The Effect of Seated Crossed-Leg Position on the Blood Pressure of Hypertensive Patients

One probable source of error of blood pressure (BP) measurement can be the crossed-leg seating position, but research findings on these subjects are contradictory. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of crossing legs while measuring the BP in patients with hypertension. The quasi-experimental study included 90 patients selected through purposive sampling among the population of patients with primary hypertension admitted to the Internal and Cardiac Clinics of Vaseʹee Hospital in Sabzevar, Iran. BP was measured according to a written protocol in three steps: first sitting with both feet straight on the floor, then sitting with crossed legs, and finally sitting with both feet straight on the floor (as in the first step). Conventional stethoscope and sphygmomanometer were used for measurements, and t-test was used for data analysis in SPSS. Crossing legs while measuring BP increased systolic BP by 6.81 mmHg (from 144.43±21.782 to 156.24±22.082) and diastolic BP by 3.12 mmHg (from 89.06±13.610 to 92.18±14.920). The mean systolic BP when the third step of the protocol was adopted reduced by 9.59 mmHg (from 156±22.082 to 146.66±22.438) and diastolic BP reduced by 3.53 mmHg (from 92.18±14.920 to 88.64±14.839). Based on these findings, BP reading increases in the patients with hypertension when they take a seated crossed-leg position during BP measurement.