Measuring blood pressure is one of the simplest and most important tests in medicine. A blood pressure reading gives doctors valuable information about the health of the heart and blood vessels and helps them identify problems before serious complications develop.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, kidney disease, and other life-threatening conditions.
Because high blood pressure usually causes no symptoms, regular monitoring is extremely important. Millions of people around the world rely on blood pressure checks to detect health problems early and guide treatment decisions. In most cases, blood pressure is measured using an inflatable cuff placed around the upper arm.
However, not everyone can have their blood pressure measured this way. Some people have lost an arm due to injury, illness, or birth conditions. Others may have severe weakness or paralysis after a stroke.
Certain disabilities and medical conditions can also make traditional arm measurements difficult or impossible. For these individuals, obtaining an accurate blood pressure reading has been a long-standing challenge.
Doctors have often used ankle blood pressure measurements as an alternative. While ankle readings can provide useful information, they are not always accurate. In many cases, blood pressure measured at the ankle is higher than blood pressure measured in the arm. This difference can sometimes lead to incorrect diagnoses or inappropriate treatment decisions.
Now, researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School have developed a new way to make ankle blood pressure measurements much more useful and accurate. Their study was published in the journal BMJ Open and was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, also known as NIHR.
The researchers analyzed information from more than 33,000 people from several countries. The participants were, on average, 58 years old, and about 45 percent were women.
By studying this large group of people, the scientists were able to better understand the relationship between blood pressure readings taken at the ankle and those taken at the arm.
Using these data, the team created a formula that can estimate what a person’s arm blood pressure would likely be based on an ankle reading. This approach is more accurate than previous methods and may help doctors make better decisions about diagnosing and treating high blood pressure.
To make the new method easy to use in everyday practice, the researchers also developed an online calculator called the ABLE-BP Tool. This calculator allows doctors and patients to enter an ankle blood pressure reading and receive a more accurate estimate of the equivalent arm blood pressure.
Professor Chris Clark, who led the study, said that even a small improvement in accuracy could make an important difference.
He explained that the new method may improve the accuracy of blood pressure diagnosis by only about two percent. However, because so many people undergo blood pressure screening every year, even this modest improvement could prevent many incorrect diagnoses.
In England alone, the NHS Health Check Programme identifies nearly 40,000 new cases of high blood pressure each year. According to the researchers, improving accuracy by just two percent could prevent approximately 750 misdiagnoses annually in England and many thousands more worldwide.
For people who have struggled to obtain accurate blood pressure readings, the new method offers hope.
In the United Kingdom, around 10,000 people live with upper limb loss. In addition, approximately 1.3 million people have survived a stroke, and about 75 percent of them experience arm problems that may make traditional blood pressure measurements difficult or impossible.
These individuals often face extra stress because monitoring blood pressure is especially important after a stroke. High blood pressure is responsible for about half of all strokes, and people who have already experienced one stroke have a greater risk of having another.
Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, pointed out that many stroke survivors leave the hospital with arm paralysis or severe weakness.
As a result, getting regular and reliable blood pressure measurements can become challenging. More accurate ankle readings could help doctors monitor these patients more effectively and potentially reduce the risk of future strokes.
The study also highlights the experiences of people living with disabilities. Television presenter Sue Kent, who was born with shortened arms because of exposure to the drug Thalidomide before birth, explained that she had never been able to have her blood pressure measured in the usual way.
For many years, she depended on estimates or measurements taken with thigh cuffs that may not have provided accurate results.
After a cataract operation revealed high blood pressure readings from her ankles, she became worried about her health and stroke risk. She eventually paid for private testing to gain reassurance and better understand her condition.
Sue believes the new approach could be life-changing for many people with disabilities. She said everyone deserves equal access to something as basic and important as blood pressure measurement. A more accurate method could provide reassurance, improve healthcare decisions, and make people feel more confident about managing their health.
The findings show that sometimes even a small improvement in medical practice can have a large impact. By making ankle blood pressure measurements more reliable, this new tool may help thousands of people receive more accurate diagnoses, better treatment, and greater peace of mind.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
The study was published in BMJ Open.
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