Prior rest improves blood pressure measurement

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Before patients’ blood pressure
is measured in a doctor’s office, having them seated and at
rest for at least 10 minutes appears to give more reliable
results, Italian researchers report in the American Journal of
Hypertension.

Dr. Carla Sala and colleagues at the University of Milan
note that guidelines for an optimal rest before blood pressure
readings vary, with some recommending a few minutes, others 5
minutes at least, or in some cases, 5 minutes at most.

To investigate further, the researchers studied 55
untreated patients with high blood pressure. The team took a
variety of measurements over a 16-minute period when patients
were seated in a chair.

The upper reading of blood pressure fell by 11.6 points and
the lower reading fell by 4.3 points, the team found.

Because 75 percent of the drop occurred in the first 10
minutes of being seated, Sala and colleagues conclude that
resting for this amount of time “could improve the precision
and accuracy of the measurement.”

SOURCE: American Journal of Hypertension, July 2006.