Blood Preassure Measuring? - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

What does everyone use? The medical stand-bys (sphygmomanometer and stethescope) or the new digital self inflating cuffs?

Is one more accurate than the other?

Let me know!

Thanks,

Dave

[Christina]

I do BP the old fashioned way using a sphygmomanometer. One of the benefits is the detection of irregular heartbeats. An automatic cuff won't tell you if the client has an irregular pulse. I had never considered this until my fitness testing instructor mentioned it in class a few months ago.

Christina
PS - If anyone reading this post does not know how to take a blood pressure I believe you can take a class through the American Heart Association.

[Joe Cannon MS CSCS]

I’ve heard that the mercury blood pressure cuffs are being phased out (maybe because of the risk of mercury poisoning?). As for the portable ones, Consumer Reports did a review of BP cuffs about a year or so ago. if you subscribe to consumerreports.com you can take a look at it.

I noticed that some vitamin stores now sell BP gizmos that you wrap around your wrist. While very easy to use, I’ve not seen any research on how accurate they are and Id think the more distal it is away from the body, the lower the blood pressure might be. So, as a rule I don’t think they are as accurate as wrapping the cuff around the upper arm.

I'm generally not a fan of those BP cuffs that are sometimes found inside Malls etc. I don't think they are accurate or lose their accuracy overtime.

Joe