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Accuracy of oscillometric-based blood pressure monitoring devices: impact of pulse volume, arrhythmia, and respiratory artifact

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 38, pages 45–51 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

An oscillometric waveform (OMW) envelope-based blood pressure (BP) monitoring device is widely used to monitor blood pressure and prevent hypertension and adverse cardiovascular events. At present, all primary care physicians and clinicians widely recommend oscillometric-based BP devices. The consumer selects the device based on their own decision, without knowing whether the device is validated or not, resulting in over- or under-treatment of hypertension. It is imperative that each device must comply with international protocols. In this study, we have investigated the accuracy of inflation and deflation-based oscillometric BP monitoring devices in the case of sinus rhythm (SR). Since different health conditions of the patient affect the oscillometric waveform, which can affect the device’s accuracy, in such cases, many BP monitors are skeptical of succeeding in the norms of international protocols. Therefore, this study also aims to calculate the accuracy of these devices in various health conditions and measure the effect of pulse volume, arrhythmia, and respiratory artifact on it using a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) simulator. We found that the oscillometric BP devices failed to measure the correct blood pressure in several clinical conditions.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3: Accuracy of the devices in the case of SR.
Fig. 4: Accuracy of the devices in the case of varying pulse volume.
Fig. 5
Fig. 6: Accuracy of the devices in the case of irregular pulses.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Director, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, and the Head of the Physico-Mechanical Metrology Division for their support and necessary facilities. SK would like to thank AcSIR for allowing him to pursue the PhD program and CSIR for providing the student research fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Shubham Kumar, Sanjay Yadav & Ashok Kumar

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Shubham Kumar, Sanjay Yadav & Ashok Kumar

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  1. Shubham Kumar
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Contributions

SK and AK conceptualized the problem. SK acquired the data and prepared the original manuscript. SY and AK investigated the problem, revised the manuscript and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Ashok Kumar.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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In this work, NIBP simulators have been used instead of humans. Therefore ethical approval is not required.

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Kumar, S., Yadav, S. & Kumar, A. Accuracy of oscillometric-based blood pressure monitoring devices: impact of pulse volume, arrhythmia, and respiratory artifact. J Hum Hypertens 38, 45–51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-023-00856-4

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