Does “Hidden Undercuffing” Occur Among Obese Patients? Effect of Arm Sizes and Other Predictors of the Difference Between Wrist and Upper Arm Blood Pressures

Abstract

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2010;12:82–88. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Arm size can affect the accuracy of blood pressure (BP) measurement, and “undercuffing” of large upper arms is likely to be a growing problem. Therefore, the authors investigated the relationship between upper arm and wrist readings. Upper arm and wrist circumferences and BP were measured in 261 consecutive patients. Upper arm auscultation and wrist BP was measured in triplicate, rotating measurements every 30 seconds between sites. Upper arm BP was 131.9±20.6/71.6±12.6 mm Hg in an obese population (body mass index, 30.6±6.6 kg/m 2 ) with mean upper arm size of 30.7±5.1 cm. Wrist BP was higher (2.6±9.2 mm Hg and 4.9±6.6 mm Hg, respectively, P <.001); however, there was moderate concordance for the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) strata (κ value=0.27–0.71), and the difference was ≥5 mm Hg in 72% of the patients. The authors conclude that there was poor concordance between arm and wrist BP measurement and found no evidence that “hidden undercuffing” was associated with obesity; therefore, they do not support routine use of wrist BP measurements.