Does Hand Dominance Impact Inter-arm Systolic Blood Pressure (IASBP)?

Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA

Objective. To determine if hand dominance affects IASBP in young healthy adults. Background. IASBP differences ≥ 10 mmHg have been reported useful to predict future cardiovascular-related morbidities. As dominant arms (DOM) tend to have greater girth and muscle development than non-dominant arms (NDOM), it was reasoned that cuff pressures needed to obtain systolic blood pressure (SBP) may be greater on DOM arms whether DOM was left or right hand. Methods. SBP was measured in left and right-handers (29.4 ± 10.4 years) in whom handedness was clearly defined. Handedness was determined by a multi-question form in 90 young adults (45 male) and IASBP determined via simultaneous measurements done in triplicate on seated subjects. The percentage of left-handers in male and female sub-groups were equal at 37.8%. Results. Results show that the absolute IASBP difference in left-handers (mean ± SD) was 4.4 ± 3.8 mmHg and for right-handers was 5.0 ± 4.2 mmHg (P = 0.362). There was statistically significant difference among 1st, 2nd and 3rd measured IASSBP difference for either right or left-handers or differences between right and left-handers. Conclusion. Results show no evidence of a higher SBP in dominant arms whether subjects were left or right handed. This finding clarifies the hand-dominance issue as a factor not generally needing to be considered in clinical assessments. A potentially useful secondary outcome was the finding that 14.8% of this group had at least one measured IASBP difference ≥ 10 mmHg a finding that was unexpected and may have future relevance. Grants. NA