SINOPSIS

An accurate diagnosis of hypertension (HT) is crucial to its management, and thus effective screening procedures in primary care are essential. Current guidelines recommend dual-arm blood pressure (BP) measurement when screening all patients for hypertension. This review presents common problems associated with clinical BP measurement, and describes how dual-arm measurement has the potential to greatly improve both screening for HT and risk assessment for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Current gaps in the literature regarding dual-arm BP measurement are also addressed.