Difference in blood pressure between arms

Difference in blood pressure between arms

Difference in blood pressure between both arms ‘reveal real health risk’

The blood pressure readings on both arms are NOT symmetric. However a difference in blood pressure between the right and left arm might signal an increased risk of dying from heart disease mentioned by doctors. The discovery revealed that 15mm of mercury difference or more in systolic blood pressure between the arms is linked to the hardening of the arteries which supply blood to the legs and feet.

Their findings come after having reviewed 28 papers focusing at the variations in systolic blood pressure between the arms.

Harvard Health Publications
Harvard Medical School
Different blood pressure in right and left arms could signal trouble

British researchers looked at the results of 20 studies in which blood pressure was measured in both arms. People with an arm-to-arm difference of 15 points or more were twice as likely to have peripheral artery disease—essentially cholesterol-clogged arteries in the arms, legs, or other non-heart parts of the body. The name may sound dismissive, but the disease isn’t. Peripheral artery disease affects at least 12 million Americans, more than heart disease and stroke combined. It kills some, maims others, and makes life painful for countless more….

Why does blood pressure vary from arm to arm?
Blood pressure readings in the right and left arms that differ by a few points aren’t anything to worry about. It’s actually quite normal. A difference of more than 10 points, though, could suggest trouble…..

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Harvard Health Publications
Harvard Medical School
Big arm-to-arm difference in blood pressure linked to higher heart attack risk

The next time you have your blood pressure checked, ask your health care to check it in both arms, rather than just in one. Why? A big difference between the two readings can give you an early warning about increased risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues measured blood pressure—in both arms—in nearly 3,400 men and women age 40 or older with no signs of heart disease. The average arm-to-arm difference was about 5 points in systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading). About 10% of the study participants had differences of 10 or more points. Over the next 13 years or so, people with arm-to-arm differences of 10 points or more were 38% more likely to have had a heart attack, stroke, or a related problem than those with arm-to arm differences less than 10 points. The findings, which appear in the March 2014 American Journal of Medicine, uphold earlier work on arm-to-arm differences in blood pressure….

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US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Accurate Blood Pressure Measurements and the Other Arm
The Doctor is Ultimately Responsible
What is the blood pressure in both arms of your patient?
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Oxford Journals
Family Practice
The differential blood pressure sign in general practice: prevalence and prognostic value

Abstract
Background. Patients sometimes have differences of ≥20/10 mmHg in their blood pressure depending on which arm is measured. The prevalence and prognostic value of this finding in general practice are unknown. If these differences are due to peripheral vascular disease, these patients may be at increased risk of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events.

Conclusions. During a single assessment of blood pressure, there will be a minority of patients with a difference of ≥20/10 mmHg between their right and left arms. Measurement of both arms is therefore necessary to diagnose and treat hypertension accurately. This study suggests an association between blood pressure difference and increased morbidity and mortality. Priority should be given to managing other risk factors aggressively in those patients with a reproducible blood pressure difference of ≥20/10 mmHg.

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American Heart Association