Limb Occlusion Pressure: A Method to Assess Changes in Systolic Blood Pressure

Although often used as a surrogate, comparisons between traditional blood pressure measurements and limb occlusion assessed via hand-held Doppler have yet to be completed. Using limb occlusion pressure as a method of assessing systolic pressure is of interest to those studying the acute effects of blood flow restriction, where the removal of the cuff may alter the physiological response.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine how changes in limb occlusion pressure track with changes in traditional assessments of blood pressure.

BASIC PROCEDURES: Limb occlusion pressure measured by hand-held Doppler and blood pressure measured by an automatic blood pressure cuff were assessed at rest and following isometric knee extension (post and 5 minutes post).

MAIN FINDINGS: Each individual had a similar dispersion from the mean value for both the limb occlusion pressure measurement and traditional systolic blood pressure measurement [BF10: 0.33; median (95% credible interval): 0.02 (-6.0, 5.9) %]. In response to lower body isometric exercise, blood pressure changed across time. The difference between measurements was small at immediately post and 5 minutes post. The Bayes factors were in the direction of the null but did not exceed the threshold needed to accept the null hypothesis. However, at 5 minutes post, the differences were within the range of practical equivalence (within ± 4.6%).

PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that changes in limb occlusion pressure measured by hand-held Doppler track similarly to traditional measurements of brachial systolic blood pressure following isometric knee extension exercise.