A15480 Pattern of Inter-arm difference in blood pressure and ankle-brachial index in building construction workers

Abstract

Objectives: Inter-arm blood pressure difference (IAD) has received increased attention recently since it has been found to be associated with peripheral vascular disease (PAD). An inter-arm difference in blood pressure of less than 10mmHg is classified as normal based on the new clinical guideline for hypertension. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is the ratio of the systolic blood pressure at the ankle compared with the brachial artery pressure. When the ABI is ≤ 0.9, a diagnosis of PAD is made upto a 90% accuracy. Oscillometric blood pressure measurement is commonly used for screening and follow-up monitoring of arterial hypertension, may also used as automated tools for simplified ABI-measurements rather than pinpoint detection of a vessel by a Doppler probe. The purpose of present study is to see the pattern of inter-arm difference in blood pressure and also validate oscillometric ABI measurement by assessing and comparing the results with the current gold standard of Doppler assisted measurement of ABI in building construction workers Methods: Inter-arm difference in blood pressure and ABI was measured in 50 building construction workers with age group between 20- 40 years using Automated Oscillometric device Microlife watchBP office (model- Twin200 AFS), Switzerland with appropriate cuff size for arm and leg circumference. Doppler ABI measurements were made with a commercially available HI-dop (BT-200 vascular Doppler in all building construction workers. Results: Increased systolic inter-arm difference was present in significant number of participants. Oscillometric measurement of ABI was performed significantly faster than Doppler-assisted ABI. Conclusion: In primary care setting, blood pressure should be actively measured in both arms. Oscillometric ABI is feasible and operator- independent.