| Blood pressure
readings may come out artificially high if the wrong size arm cuff
is used on an obese patient. The issue is becoming more serious as
the prevalence of obesity worldwide has been increasing.
According to a study, eight percent of obese patients were wrongly
diagnosed as hypertensive because a standard size cuff was used,
as opposed to a large adult cuff.
A wrong diagnosis can lead a patient to start unnecessary drugs
or antihypertensive treatments.
British
Medical Journal August 30, 2003;327:468
|