Accuracy of Inflatable Blood Pressure Cuffs Vs. Electronic

Blood pressure cuffs are instruments used in the diagnosis and treatment of blood pressure and heart conditions. A few different kinds of manual blood pressure cuffs and many brands of digital or electronic blood pressure monitors are available. Some are sold for home use, some are used in clinics and other kinds are administered in hospitals and other types of health care facilities.

Types

• Most digital or electronic blood pressure monitors are sold for home use by the consumer, partly because the technique of manually measuring blood pressure is sometimes a little complicated for the average consumer. The technical name for a manual blood pressure cuff is a sphygmomanometer. The manual blood pressure cuffs are used by healthcare workers, who are taught to use them in school.

Function

• Even though digital blood pressure monitors are easier too use, they are not typically the most accurate machine to measure blood pressure. The blood pressure numbers change on account of abnormalities, such as, an irregular heart beat or a change in the body's movement. This is why when you go to a public electronic blood pressure cuff center at a store in the pharmacy section, the machine tells you that testing was disrupted if you moved.

Left Arm Use

• Another problem in public digital blood pressure monitors is that the cuff is designed for the left arm alone. The left arm is a tell-tale sign or indication of heart trouble. Pain in the left arm usually precedes a heart attack. Sometimes discomfort in the left arm can indicate a blood clot in the body, as well. Still, there is a problem with left arm use if a woman has had a left-side mastectomy or any person has had a shunt put into the left arm. It is also a problem for a person who does not have a left arm.

Considerations

• Accuracy also depends on the size of the cuff. If the cuff size is small and you have a large arm for whatever reason, the reading of systolic over diastolic will be wrong. And vice versa, if the cuff is too big and your arm is very thin, the reading will be inaccurate. It is imperative that the right cuff be used to obtain an accurate reading.

Manual Reading Considerations

• When a health care worker takes your blood pressure, it doesn't matter how much you move, as long as your movements are quiet enough for the health care worker to hear the sounds of your blood pressure. Your movements don't affect the reading. What will change the reading is your diet, medications and sometimes emotional state. What also changes the reading is the interpretation of the reading by the health care worker. That is why they need to go to school to learn how to administer and read blood pressure measurements.