Table 1 Blood pressure measurement

• Rest for 5 or more minutes in a quiet, appropriate environment

• Avoid smoking, alcohol or caffeine before measurement

• Measure 2 or more times at 1- to 2-min intervals at a single visit

• Use a cuff with a bladder at least 40% of the arm circumference wide; 80% of arm circumference long (a standard bladder for adults: 13 cm wide; 22–24 cm long)

• Maintain the upper arm cuff at the heart level

• Inflate the cuff rapidly and deflate slowly at a speed of 2 mmHg per heart beat

• Identify the blood pressure as the systolic blood pressure at the first Korotkoff sound; the blood pressure as the diastolic blood pressure at the fifth Korotkoff sound

• Consider the blood pressure as the diastolic blood pressure at the fourth Korotkoff sound in pregnancy, arteriovenous shunt, and chronic aortic insufficiency

• Measure blood pressure in both arms on the initial visit; subsequently use the arm of higher pressure to measuring blood pressure

• Measure blood pressure in legs to exclude peripheral arterial disease, when pulses in the lower extremities are weak

• Repeating the measurement three or more times to estimate the average systolic and diastolic pressure in case of arrhythmia

• Measure blood pressure after 1- and 3-min standing in elderly persons and persons with diabetes and suspected orthostatic hypotension