BP Higher in Non-Dominant arm? - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

alptraum · 01-25-2005, 10:58 AM

With a few threads talking about differences in arms and BP higher in the dominant arm, I realized that my BP is higher in my non-dominanat arm. I did some Googling and it appears in the med literature that BP is generally higher in the dominant arm. I am left handed but my BP is always higher in my right arm. In some cases if I measure my right arm and then immediately do my left arm there is a difference greater than 10 points. I'm only 23 so I cannot imagine I have any blockages. Could this help identify a cause perhaps?

I sleep a lot on my right side and I do some times wake up with a "dead arm" from sleeping on it, could I have some sort of nerve damage?

Lenin · 01-25-2005, 12:06 PM

alptraum,

I wouldn't be concerned. The literature says "usually higher in the dominant arm." Noothing wrong with being "unusual", it makes the world more interesting.

zuzu8 · 01-25-2005, 01:30 PM

I agree with Lenin...Could be you're just put together "unusually"!

My BP is also always slightly higher in my dominant arm, and sometimes the systolic is about 10 points higher.

Unless your arm/shoulder is chronically bothering you, not just upon arising having slept on it ( I mean constant and chronic pain, pins and needles) I doubt if you have something like thoracic outlet syndrome, which can cause asymetric BP in the arms.

Oops...now I can see you googling thoracic outlet..STOP. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth!!

zuzu xx

zuzu xx

Moxie75 · 01-25-2005, 02:17 PM

You see ZUZU is our resident doctor. HEEHEE All I know is thoracic which has something to do with the plueral area and syndrome meaning they (drs)cannot figure it out yet so they call it a syndrome right ZUZU? I am an old med assistant and still remember the medical terminology. I would not worry though about the dominant arm thing as both Lenin and Zuzu are on the money with that one..Lisa

alptraum · 01-25-2005, 03:08 PM

I suppose it could be that BP is higher in the right arm for most people, and most people also happen to be right handed, so they could be confounding BP is higher in the dominant arm perhaps when it really is in most cases just BP is higher in the right arm.

Doesn't the blood pump through the right arm first, then later on through the left?