October 24, 2023- A new study on blood pressure (BP) measurement found that adhering to positioning guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) resulted in substantially lower BP values when compared to commonly employed technique and improper positioning. A peer-reviewed report of the CORRECT BP study has been published in eClinical Medicine, part of The Lancet Discovery Science.
Key findings of the CORRECT BP study include:
- AHA-recommended positioning resulted in substantially lower BP values when compared to those readings obtained within routine clinical care where AHA-recommended positioning procedures for BP attainment were not followed.
- BP readings taken on a fixed-height exam table where the proper AHA protocol could not be achieved were significantly higher than readings taken using the proper technique with the patient seated in an exam chair with adjustable positioning options.
- Pooled systolic/diastolic BP readings taken on the exam table with incorrect positioning were markedly higher by 7.0/4.5 mmHg (both p<0.0001) than those taken in the exam chair.
- These significantly higher readings could result in misclassifying a patient as having hypertension
- The observed benefit of proper positioning is sufficient to change the classification of BP disorders for millions of patients from hypertensive to normal.
- The results support estimates that as many as 30 million or more Americans may be incorrectly classified as having hypertension.