A variation in blood pressure in both arms could signify an increased risk of vascular disease and death, therefore measuring blood pressure in both arms should be a routine, found doctors. The difference in systolic blood pressure by fifteen mm of mercury between the both arms is associated with hardening of the arteries supplying blood to legs and feet.
A team from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Exeter reviewed twenty-eight earlier studies which looked at variations in systolic blood pressure between both arms. Majority of people in the study had an increased risk of blood pressure and about one-third had a normal level of risk.
The difference in systolic blood pressure by ten millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) between both arms could identify patients at high risk of asymptomatic peripheral vascular disease. The variation by fifteen mmHg would also indicate a raised risk of cerebrovascular disease. In addition to that they found seventy increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and sixty percent risk of death from all causes.
PVD (Peripheral vascular disease) is the narrowing and hardening of the arteries supplying blood to the legs and feet. Often there appear no symptoms of the condition and early detection of PVD is significant as such patients could then only benefit from statin therapy, stop smoking or lowering their blood pressure.
According to study author Dr Christopher Clark, it was possible one arm was giving a lower figure as of a reduction in blood flow, which could signal arterial disease. This was also significant to check routinely whether there was a significant difference between arms because the arm giving the highest figure was the true reading.
PVD is often diagnosed often on the basis of symptoms such as difficulty walking. By finding variation in blood pressure in both arms, it is possible they could examine potential problems at an earlier stage, even in patients who do not suffer high blood pressure. The study was published online in The Lancet medical journal.
Measuring blood pressure on both arms to evaluate vascular disease is, theoretically, a quick and simple task. But it is too early to say whether this idea could become part of standard healthcare practice and so they need more research to confirm the findings, stated Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse from the British Heart Foundation.