Abstract: Both the left- and the right-arm blood pressure of an aged male suffering from hypertension were measured daily for a full year. The measurements were performed three times per day, in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. During the year of measurements, 9 medication-dependent phases are distinguished. The 2196 sets of measurement data could be compared with the results of a 5-week period with similar measurements of the same individual, almost a year after the end of the first, full-year measuring period. The influence of the medication is significant, and most probably strongly patient-dependent. The common experience that the individuals of the investigated groups tend to show more frequently a higher SBP in the right arm than in the left arm is now, for the first time, confirmed for an individual who was investigated over a prolonged period. His interarm differences (IAD) appeared to show no detectable correlation with the SBP or DBP, and the absolute value of the IAD ranged mostly from -15 (R>L) to +15 (R<L), but some exceptional extreme values of up to -55 and +40 were also measured. The range of the IAD appears to have lowered significantly in the second measuring period, suggesting that prolonged intake of the medication is beneficial. This is supported by the fact that extreme values of the IAD had also become much less frequent. Extensive statistical analyses indicate, among other findings, that the average proportion of clinically relevant IAD (>10 mmHg) is much lower (30%) during periods with medication than during periods without medication (41%).

Keywords: blood pressure, DBP, hypertension, interarm differences, long-term monitoring, SBP

Pages: 236-246