An international team of scientists has determined that the difference in blood pressure measured in the right and left arms may indicate a high risk of stroke, heart attack and early death. A new warning sign is reported in an article published in the journal Hypertension.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 24 different studies, which involved about 54 thousand people from Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia. Experts looked at data on the difference in blood pressure between the arms and tracked the number of deaths, heart attacks and strokes that occurred over ten years.
A significant difference between the systolic (upper) blood pressure readings in the two arms may indicate narrowing or stiffness of the arteries, which may affect blood flow. It turned out that every additional millimeter of mercury difference increased the risk of angina, heart attack, or stroke by one percent over the next 10 years. In this case, 10 millimeters of mercury of the difference is the upper limit of the norm.
Exceeding the norm occurs in 11 percent of people with high blood pressure, which corresponds to four percent of the population.
