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To the Editor: Although we agree with Dr Jones and colleagues¹ about the importance of accurate BP measurement, we would like to make a few comments about the accuracy of BP measurement in elderly individuals.

We agree with Jones et al that oscillometric devices and auscultatory methods using either mercury or well-calibrated aneroid manometers may not yield the same results, particularly in elderly individuals with stiff arteries due to atherosclerosis. This is because systolic and diastolic pressure measurements by oscillometric devices are not directly related to a signal specific to these pressures, but derived from the mean blood pressure determined by the oscillation maximum. Because age-related arterial stiffening leads to an increase in systolic BP and a decrease in diastolic BP for the same mean BP,² it remains to be determined which algorithm is more appropriate to reflect the systolic and diastolic BP for each decade of age. Indeed, BP . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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