Title: variations and sensitivities of some blood pressure monitors and their calibrations in young subjects at sitting and upright positions

Abstract

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels. Accuracy in blood pressure meters is of essence to health, especially in blood pressure monitoring and treatment. The aim of this research was to compare the readings and the sensitivities of some blood pressure monitors in use clinically and privately in Nigeria and the effect of posture on blood pressure. A total of one hundred (100) subjects comprising of fifty (50) males and fifty (50) females all within the age range of 18-30years were involved in this research. Materials used included: stethoscopes, cuffs, aneroid sphygmomanometer, and Omron device. The results indicate statistically significant differences (P<0.05, respectively) when the mercury sphygmomanometer was compared with other blood pressure meters used except the Omron meter. The mean values of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) for the meters are (101.70 ± 1.50/69.62 ± 1.46; 107.40 ± 1.19/65.90 ± 1.19; 119.80 ± 2.17/80.89 ± 1.63; 106.10±1.18/74.85±0.91 for aneroid, Omron, wrist and mercury sphygmomanometer respectively. Conclusively, significant variations exist in the sensitivities and accuracies of the different blood pressure meters available for clinical and private use in Nigeria. The need for calibration of all these meters is hereby emphasized.