Why Do I Get Different Blood Pressure Readings on Each Arm
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Sun, January. 29 (HealthDay News) -- People whose systolic blood pressure -- the upper number in their reading -- is different in their left and right arms may be suffering from a vascular illness that could increase their risk of expiry, British researchers report.
The arteries nether the collarbone supply blood to the artillery, legs and encephalon. Blockage can atomic number 82 to stroke and other issues, the researchers noted, and measuring claret pressure level in both arms should exist routine.
"This is an of import [finding] for the general public and for principal care doctors," said Dr. William O'Neill, a professor of cardiology and executive dean of clinical diplomacy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
"Traditionally, most people just check blood pressure in one arm, simply if there is a divergence, then one of the arteries has disease in it," he said.
The arteries that run nether the collarbone tin get blocked, particularly in smokers and diabetics, he noted. "If ane artery is more than blocked than the other, then there is a difference in blood pressure level in the arms," O'Neill explained.
"Doctors should, for adults -- particularly developed smokers and diabetics -- at some signal check the claret pressure in both arms," he said. "If there is a difference it should exist looked into further."
The report appears in the January. 30 online edition of The Lancet.
For the report, a team led by Dr. Christopher Clark, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the Academy of Exeter in Devon, England, reviewed 28 studies that looked at differences in systolic blood force per unit area between arms.
This process is called a meta-analysis. It uses data from previously published studies to observe trends that may non have surfaced in the original data.
This analysis constitute that a difference of 15 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or more between readings was linked with an increased run a risk of narrowing or hardening of the arteries supplying the lower limbs, called peripheral vascular disease.
The risk of reduced blood flow to the legs and feet was increased 2.v times and the risk of decreased claret menstruation to the brain was increased one.6 times, the researchers found.
The difference in blood pressure was also associated with a 70 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 60 per centum increased risk of decease from any cause, the authors added.
The risk of having peripheral vascular disease was likewise increased with a 10 mm Hg difference in claret pressure between arms, the researchers noted.
It makes no difference which arm has the higher or lower pressure, it'south the difference between them that matters, the written report authors said.
Finding peripheral vascular disease early on and treating it past lowering claret pressure level and cholesterol also as giving up smoking can assistance reduce the risk of death, Clark'southward group said.
"Our findings advise that a difference in [systolic blood pressure] of 10 mm Hg or more, or xv mm Hg or more, betwixt arms could identify patients at high risk of asymptomatic peripheral vascular affliction and mortality who might benefit from further assessment," the researchers concluded.
"Findings from our study should exist incorporated into future guidelines for hypertension [high blood pressure] and blood pressure measurement," they added.
Another expert agreed that when it comes to blood pressure monitoring, both arms matter.
"These findings further reinforce claret pressure measurement guidelines of the American Middle Association, World Health System, International Club of Hypertension Guidelines and European Society of Hypertension, which recommend that blood force per unit area should be measured in both arms at initial assessment," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and spokesman for the American Center Association.
He believes that, "individuals found to have differences in systolic blood pressure level in between arms of greater than x or xv mm Hg should undergo further vascular assessment."
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SOURCES: Gregg Fonarow, 1000.D., professor, cardiology, Academy of California, Los Angeles, and spokesman, American Heart Association; William O'Neill, M.D., professor, cardiology, and executive dean, clinical diplomacy, Academy of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Jan. 30, 2012, The Lancet, online
Why Do I Get Different Blood Pressure Readings on Each Arm
Source: https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=154135