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(Hypertension. 2006;48:e4.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Letters to the Editor

Miscuffing: A Problem With New Guidelines

L. Michael Prisant

Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia

Bruce Friedman

GE Healthcare, Tampa, Florida

Bruce Alpert

University of Tennessee General Clinical Research Center, Memphis, Tennessee

Clarence E. Grim

Hypertension Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Michael Hayes

W. A. Baum Co, Inc, Copiague, New York

Carlene M. Grim

Shared Cared Education and Research Consulting Inc, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

To the Editor:

Cuff dimensions have been a source of controversy for many years. Early guidelines of the American Heart Association recommended a cuff width 20% wider than the diameter of the arm or thigh and a cuff length "sufficient to half-encircle a limb ... provided care is taken by the operator to place it on the side of the compressible artery."¹ For adults, a cuff width of 12 cm was recommended. In the next recommendation, the cuff width for adults was 12 to 14 cm, but was larger (18 to 20 cm) in obese persons.² However, a bladder length of 30 cm was suggested to nearly or completely encircle the limb. Subsequent reports (Table 1) have recommended a bladder width and length of 40% and 80% of arm circumference.^3–5 Alternatively, the ideal arm circumference is 2.5 times the bladder width.⁴

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   TABLE 1. Cuff Size in American Heart Association Guidelines (in cm)

There are many publications that point to the influence of cuff size on blood pressure measurement. Different-sized cuffs on the same person result in different blood pressure readings. Generally, these publications suggest that too narrow of a cuff spuriously elevates the recorded blood pressure in a patient with a large arm circumference, and too wide a cuff lowers the measured blood pressure in a smaller arm.

The latest recommendation on blood pressure measurement in humans seems to contribute to miscuffing of patients.⁶ Table 2 compares the 1993 and 2005 American Heart Association guidelines for cuff width-to-arm circumference percent.^5,6 This comparison suggests that the 1993 guidelines are closer to the ideal cuff width of 46% of the arm circumference, as suggested in the 2005 guidelines. Thus, we believe that the 1993 guidelines for cuff width should be used.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   TABLE 2. Cuff Width-to-Arm Circumference Percent for Lower and Upper Arm Circumferences

Virtually all of the epidemiological and clinical trial data that we use to classify persons as hypertensive and to guide therapy have been collected using trained personnel and cuff sizes that have been based on cuffs available for years from the major suppliers. If we change the cuff recommendations, we will not able to use the data collected up to 2005 using cuffs that are not the same as the newly recommended ones. The unavailability of the cuffs recommended in the 2005 guidelines would create a major financial problem for all those facilities that want to use the 2005 guidelines. All of the current cuffs would have to be replaced.

	Acknowledgments

 
Disclosures

All authors are members of the Sphygmomanometer Committee of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.

	References

Top References

 

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3. Kirkendall WM, Feinleib M, Freis ED, Mark AL. Recommendations for human blood pressure determination by sphygmomanometers. Subcommittee of the AHA Postgraduate Education Committee. Circulation. 1980; 62: 1146A–1155A.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
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5. Perloff D, Grim C, Flack J, Frohlich ED, Hill M, McDonald M, Morgenstern BZ. Human blood pressure determination by sphygmomanometry. Circulation. 1993; 88: 2460–2470.[Free Full Text]
6. Pickering TG, Hall JE, Appel LJ, Falkner BE, Graves J, Hill MN, Jones DW, Kurtz T, Sheps SG, Roccella EJ. Recommendations for blood pressure measurement in humans and experimental animals: part 1: blood pressure measurement in humans: a statement for professionals from the subcommittee of professional and public education of the American Heart Association Council on High Blood Pressure Research. Hypertension. 2005; 45: 142–161.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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				T. G. Pickering, J. E. Hall, L. Appel, B. Falkner, J. Graves, M. Hill, D. W. Jones, T. Kurtz, S. Sheps, and E. Roccella Response to Recommendations for Blood Pressure Measurement in Human and Experimental Animals; Part 1: Blood Pressure Measurement in Humans and Miscuffing: A Problem With New Guidelines: Addendum Hypertension, July 1, 2006; 48(1): e5 - e6. [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 48/1/e4    most recent 01.HYP.0000229663.60259.c0v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Prisant, L. M. Articles by Grim, C. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Prisant, L. M. Articles by Grim, C. M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information High Blood Pressure Related Collections Epidemiology