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Direct and indirect blood pressure in normotensive and hypertensive subjects
Author(s) -
FAGHER B.,
MAGNÚSSON J.,
THULIN T.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1994.tb01124.x
Subject(s) - medicine , blood pressure , metoprolol , cuff , diastole , placebo , plasma renin activity , cardiology , population , renin–angiotensin system , endocrinology , surgery , alternative medicine , environmental health , pathology
. Objectives . To compare intrabrachial blood pressure (I‐BP) with simultaneously measured contralateral auscultatory (A‐)BP in hypertensive and normotensive subjects. The question was whether differences between direct and indirect BP are influenced by the BP levels. Subjects . Hypertensive subjects treated with either placebo ( n = 10) or metoprolol ( n = 8) and agematched normotensive subjects ( n = 15), selected from a defined patient population waiting for cholecystectomy or hernia repair. Measurements were performed pre‐induction of anaesthesia. Results . In the hypertensive subjects, cuff systolic BP (SBP) was lower than I‐BP by an average of 8 mmHg (placebo‐) and 7 mmHg (metoprolol‐treated), where‐as diastolic A‐BP (A‐DBP) was 3 and 7 mmHg higher, respectively. In the normotensive subjects, mean A‐SBP and I‐SBP agreed closely, whereas A‐DBP was 11 mmHg higher. Thus, SBP differences (i.e. indirect–direct BP) were significantly less and DBP differences significantly greater in the normotensive than in the hypertensive subjects ( P < 0.05). Plasma renin activity and adrenalin showed better correlations with A‐MBP than with I‐MBP. Conclusions . The drift of cuff systolic readings fell progressively below the intrabrachial values when BP increased, whilst diastolic cuff values approached the direct pressures. Since A‐MBP did not significantly differ from I‐MBP in any group, one must ask whether hypertension would be more correctly defined according to MBP criteria.