Consistency of Blood Pressure Measurement Methods in Atrial Fibrillation.

Abstract

Background: Ensuring precise measurement of blood pressure (BP) is crucial for effectively diagnosing and treating hypertension in atrial fibrillation patients. However, the reliability and agreement between the two commonly utilized techniques, oscillometric and auscultatory methods, remain unclear in these individuals. This study seeks to bridge this gap by examining the consistency of BP measurements using these methods in atrial fibrillation patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 patients with atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm. BP was measured using both methods (three times with each method): 1) the auscultatory method based on Korotkoff sounds and 2) the oscillometric method. The SPSS version 25 software was used for data analysis. In all steps, P-values < 0.05 are considered significant.

Results: The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) measured by the oscillometric method was 116.38±16.73 mmHg in the sinus group and 127.29±21.51 mmHg in the atrial fibrillation (AF) group. In contrast, the mean by the auscultatory method was 116.18 ±15.46 mmHg in the Sinus rhythm group and 131.07±23.72 mmHg in the AF group (respectively P=0.006, P<0.001). This study shows a significant difference in the SBP measured using the two methods in patients with AF (P=0.003). We also found that the significant difference between the two methods only applies to heart rates of 80 beats per minute and higher (P=0.017).

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that although there is a significant correlation between oscillometric and auscultatory methods for assessing blood pressure in patients with atrial fibrillation, a significant difference was observed in the measurement of systolic blood pressure.