Arm Cuff Blood Pressure Measurements May Fall Short for Predicting Heart Disease Risk in Some People with Resistant High Blood Pressure

A measurement of central blood pressure in people with difficult-to-treat high blood pressure could help reduce risk of heart disease better than traditional arm cuff readings for some patients, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.  

Central blood pressure, also called blood pressure amplification, is measured at the aorta, the artery closest to the heart. Researchers found this measurement can more accurately reflect heart disease risk in people with treatment-resistant high blood pressure based on findings from their study.

“We found that higher differences in blood pressure between the arm and the aorta are associated with increased incidence of heart disease in the general population,” said Badhma Valaiyapathi, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., lead study author and a postdoctoral fellow in vascular biology at the hypertension clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “We looked specifically at people whose high blood pressure is resistant to treatment, meaning patients’ arm blood pressure readings remain out of control despite the patient being on high blood pressure medications.”

The researchers studied adult patients with high blood pressure including some with difficult-to-treat high blood pressure. Blood pressure and pulse pressure were measured using the traditional arm cuff as well as with pulse wave analysis, to measure central blood pressure when the heart is pumping. Based on the measurements, patients were categorized into three groups: controlled nonresistant blood pressure; controlled resistant blood pressure; and uncontrolled resistant blood pressure. Blood pressure amplification was calculated as the difference between the two measures.

Read more at American Heart Association

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