Attention to blood pressure cuff sizes is important for home and in-clinic blood pressure measurement

Abstract Arm circumference determines appropriate blood pressure cuff size, which is critical for accurate measurements. This cross-sectional analysis aimed to assess cuff size needs according to mid-arm circumferences of Australian adults. Based on typical in-clinic cuff sizes, most Australians would require a medium (51.7%) or large (44.5%) cuff, which means that the cuff would need to be changed for almost every second patient. Most home devices are supplied with a standard (22–32 cm) or wide-range (22–42 cm) cuff, these were found to be unsuitable for 9 million adults (48.3%) and over 701,995 adults (3.8%), respectively. Concerningly, the standard cuff size available with commonly used home devices would be unsuitable for large proportions of people in higher cardiovascular risk groups (e.g. hypertension (59.7%), diabetes (66.3%), high cholesterol (55.6%) and obesity (92.3%)). This work highlights attention must be paid to selecting appropriate cuff sizes for accurate blood pressure measurements in-clinic and at home.