At your annual physical, after your doctor wraps that blood
pressure cuff around one of your arms, does he or she then wrap
it around your other arm? If your physician is anything like
mine, then he probably doesn’t. So what? Well, a new British
study adds to the growing body of research showing that blood
pressure measurements in both arms are critical, because each
arm may have a different measure—and the size of that difference
can play a large role in your risk for cardiovascular problems.
Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry in
England analyzed data from more than 20 studies on blood
pressure monitoring. What they found: After five to 16 years of
follow-up, researchers found that a difference of 15 mmHg of
systolic pressure (the top blood pressure reading) between the
two arms indicated 2.5 times the risk for peripheral artery
disease…a 60% higher risk for stroke…and a 70% higher risk of
dying of heart disease, compared with those whose left- and
right-arm systolic pressure differ