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Absolutely a nightmare! Even when I had lower weight, I have large upper arms. This is a 50 year battle for me, a fat elder. A cardiologist in Hawaii told me exactly what you described: for accurate blood pressure the patient should have time to sit and relax prior to the reading, good back support, legs uncrossed, the proper cuff size, …
Absolutely a nightmare! Even when I had lower weight, I have large upper arms. This is a 50 year battle for me, a fat elder. A cardiologist in Hawaii told me exactly what you described: for accurate blood pressure the patient should have time to sit and relax prior to the reading, good back support, legs uncrossed, the proper cuff size, arm supported at heart level, and no chitchat during the reading. That has only happened at that doc's office.
I've been asked to hold the cuff on, told a too-small cuff was fine when the person wanted to use tape to keep it shut, been tsk-tsk'd at because my bp was "sky high" while my arm and the cuff were wedged tightly between a gurney's rail and my body (apparently doesn't make a difference?!), and told that having my bp taken manually was "not possible." Given proper circumstances, healthy bp so the Good Doc suggested I buy a properly sized unit with XL arm cuff and track my bp myself so I'd have good data. May do that one day...after my enormous lottery win.
Thanks for making it clear this is lunacy. I'm so disappointed it persists! Nobody should have to seriously consider whether the benefit of seeking medical care is worth the stress of doing so....