Comparison of forearm and upper arm blood pressures

Objective. In the prehospital setting it is not always feasible to obtain blood pressure (BP) readings from the upper arm. This study was performed to compare BPs obtained from subjects' forearms and upper arms in order to assess the utility of forearm BP as a surrogate for standard BP. Methods. The authors performed a prospective, cross-sectional, convenience study in a sample of ambulatory university ED patients, where each subject had sequential determinations of left upper arm and forearm BPs with an automated monitor at ED triage. The order of measurement was determined by the day of the week. Demographic and clinical data were also recorded. The main outcome measure was the correlation between upper arm and forearm systolic and diastolic BPs. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Student's t-test were used to analyze the data. Results. 151 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 35.3 ± 15.7 years; 40% were female and 78% were white. The mean forearm and upper arm systolic BPs were 129.8 ± 20.7 mm H...