The effect of clothes on blood pressure measurement

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of clothes on blood pressure measurement.

Methods: One group pretest-posttest design was used in this study. The study consisted of 162 undergraduate students studying nursing and physiotherapy at a university in Ankara, Turkey. Blood pressure was measured over the sleeve and below a rolled-up sleeve with a mercury-filled column sphygmomanometer. All blood pressure measurements were performed on the right arm during morning hours by the same nurse. Each participant’s height, weight and clothing thickness were measured.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 20.71. The median systolic blood pressure values were 110.07 mmHg over the sleeve and 110.37 mmHg below the rolled-up sleeve. There were no statistically significant differences between measurements taken over the sleeve and below a rolled-up sleeve (p=0.222). The median diastolic blood pressure values were 69.56 mmHg over the sleeve and 69.59 mmHg below the rolled-up sleeve. There were no statistically significant differences between measurements taken over the sleeve and below a rolled-up sleeve (p=0.572).

Conclusion: It was found that clothes have no statistically significant effect on systolic/diastolic blood pressure measurements. Measuring blood pressure over a sleeve may save time.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.331.11811

How to cite this:Ertug N, Cakal T, Ozturk SB, Verim M. The effect of clothes on blood pressure measurement. Pak J Med Sci. 2017;33(1):205-209.   doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.331.11811

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