Raising the arm before cuff inflation increases the loudness of Korotkoff sounds.

Introduction: Recent guidelines suggest that Korotkoff sounds can be enhanced by elevating the arm overhead for 30 s before inflating the cuff, and then bringing the arm to the usual position to continue the blood pressure measurement.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated the effect of this manoeuvre on the loudness of the Korotkoff sound and on the accuracy of Riva-Rocci-Korotkoff (RRK) measurements. Using an electronic stethoscope, we compared the amplitudes of Korotkoff sounds between both arm positions.

How to assess mean blood pressure properly at the brachial artery level.

Objectives: Mean arterial pressure at the upper arm is traditionally calculated by adding one-third of the pulse pressure to the diastolic pressure. We questioned the general validity of this formula.

Methods: We used previously recorded resting intrabrachial pressure and Riva-Rocci Korotkoff blood pressure measurements in 57 subjects (study A) and 24-h intra-arterial recordings obtained in 22 ambulant subjects (study B).