The accuracy of vital parameters, such as heart rate or blood pressure, depend on the position of the body when measuring, which can distort the results.
- Measured by the speed of the carotid-femoral pulse wave, the rigidity of the arteries is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Blood and arterial pressures, heart rate as well as the carotid-femoral pulse wave are higher when measured on seated patients.
- Nevertheless, by adjusting certain factors such as hydrostatic pressure, which is due to gravity, the precision of the measurements in sitting and lying position were almost the same.
Heart frequency, blood pressure and arterial, wave of carotid -femoral pulse … The accuracy of these vital parameters depends on the position of the patient’s body – lying down or seated – during the measurement, according to a new study published in the journal American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.
Higher values in sitting position
During their work, the researchers have more precisely worked on the rigidity of the arteries, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This is mainly measured by a vital parameter: the speed of the carotid-femoral pulse wave. As a rule, the measurement is carried out thanks to a flattening tone, between carotid and the femoral artery.
But that’s not all, scientists also wanted to understand the impact of the measurement position on other vital parameters: heart rate as well as blood and arterial pressure. Thus, in a sitting position then lying down, they made measures of all these vital parameters, the same day, on healthy participants.
Results: blood and arterial pressures, heart rate as well as the carotid-femoral pulse wave were generally higher when the participants were seated. The fact of sitting, rather than being lying, during the tests can therefore be misleading and cause an increase in arterial rigidity parameters which does not reflect a real increase.
Adjust the values when the measurements are taken in sitting position
“”It is essential to carefully examine the position of patients during measures [de la vitesse de l’onde de pouls] To accurately assess arterial rigidity, indicate the authors in a press release. For patients who find it difficult to maintain a completely elongated posture, the values obtained in a sitting position can be adjusted”. Indeed, the researchers noticed that by adjusting certain factors such as hydrostatic pressure, which is due to gravity, the accuracy of the measurements were almost the same between the sitting and lying position.
