11 Mistakes When Measuring Blood Pressure

Knowing your blood pressure is important, but measuring it is so easy to get wrong, that even professionals often make these mistakes, which can result in a falsely high or falsely low reading:

You’ll want to learn these by heart

Dr. Siobhan Deshauer advises us to avoid these mistakes:

1. Skipping rest before measurement: not sitting quietly for at least 5 minutes can raise systolic blood pressure by up to 11 points.
2. Talking during measurement: speaking, even casually, can trigger nervous system activity and add up to 7 points to systolic readings.
3. Using the wrong arm: readings can differ between arms; always use the arm with the higher pressure. A 10+ point difference may be a sign of vascular disease, to be wary of that.
4. No back support: sitting without firm back support can raise systolic pressure by about 10 points.
5. Improper arm positioning: if your arm isn’t supported at heart level, it can falsely raise or lower readings by up to 6 points (higher than heart = falsely low reading; lower than heart = falsely high reading).
6. Crossed legs: crossing your legs during measurement can elevate systolic blood pressure by as much as 15 points.
7. Caffeine before testing: recent intake can increase systolic readings by up to 10 points; avoid it for 30 minutes prior.
8. Full bladder: this too can activate the sympathetic nervous system and raise systolic pressure by up to 15 points.
9. Wrong cuff size: a cuff that’s too small can raise systolic pressure by 11 points; one that’s too large can give commensurately falsely low readings.
10. Using wrist monitors: these are even more error-prone than upper arm cuffs and should only be used when no other option exists; choose validated devices only.
11. Relying solely on clinic readings: white coat hypertension (up to 30-point spike) and masked hypertension (normal in clinic, high elsewhere) affect 20–30% of people—home monitoring is therefore essential for accuracy.

Example:

• at home, sitting tranquilly with my arm supported on cushions, the cuff placed correctly, and taking 3 readings to take an average of them, this writer’s blood pressure averages around 103/70,
• at a clinic where I got my blood pressure taken shortly after bouncing up 6 flights of stairs, without correct support of my arm let alone my back, and a nurse hurriedly taking it while asking me questions, 130/84

Quite a difference!

For more about these mistakes, enjoy:

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Take care!