Box 1. measuring blood pressure: key points
● The setting should be standardised as much as possible, relaxed and temperate.
The patient should be rested and seated in a chair with back support for at least five
minutes before measurement (Dougherty and Lister, 2011)
● The patient’s arm should be supported and stretched out in line with the mid-sternum
● The pulse should be checked before an automatic blood pressure (BP) monitor is
used; an irregular pulse may affect the device’s ability to measure BP accurately
● The correctly sized cuff must be used; one that is too small (under-cuffing) can give
a falsely high reading, whereas one that is too big can give a falsely low one
● BP should be recorded on both arms; if the difference between readings is
20mmHg or over, measurements should be repeated in both arms. Subsequent
measurements should be taken from the arm with the higher reading