I have a very silly question!

[Tamxxx]

Ok so i was taking this girls blood pressure and she told me that i can take her blood presure on one arm and there was another women who wanted to practise taking blood pressure too so she said both of you can use my arms. But i was thinking is this dangerous? what will happen if we pump the cuff on both her right and left arm at the same time?

[Spencer Wells]

what will happen if we pump the cuff on both her right and left arm at the same time?

Nothing*




*probably

[Tamxxx]

I thought you would die because your whole blood circulation is being stopped?

[Spencer Wells]

The only time your entire body circulation stops is during cardiac arrest.

Having a blood pressure cuff on an arm only momentarily interrupts blood supply to that arm (only for as long as the cuff is inflated above systolic pressure, typically a few seconds). During this time, blood is still moving through the heart, going to the brain and lungs and legs and all your other vital organs.

[Airtones]

To be honest I wouldn't purely because if her blood pressure was high (which you don't know until you've taken it!) you could create a dangerous increase in pressure even momentarily but it might be enough to burst some vessels... if she had some thus far undiagnosed congenital heart defect it could do some real harm.

Its one of those situations where 999 out of 1000 it probably wouldn't be an issue, but for that 1 in a 1000 chance its not worth doing.

[terpineol]

Personally i can't see it being an issue, added to which if one had such raised blood pressure the increase in pressure caused by two sphygs is unlikely to be significant.

I think the way to look at it would be to cuff up one arm, then take a BP from the other arm, and see if it comes out above that of just doing one arm.

I fail to see in any way shape or form how closing both brachial arteries for a few seconds would stop the circulation though.

[Bambi]

It wouldn't be dangerous but it might not give a very accurate result

[ravi_pinjani]

nothing wil happen to body but definetly it will affect the arm muscle

[Spencer Wells]

nothing wil happen to body but definetly it will affect the arm muscle

And which arm muscle would that be? And how will it affect it? And why just the muscle and not the other tissues?

[Gizmo says -]

LOOLLLLL.

nice one spense.

yes both arms and they mite pop.

in a way, i was kind relieved that no one raised the issue of doing 3 legs at once, macca....