Standing blood pressure (BP), alone or in combination with seated BP, outperformed seated BP alone in diagnosing hypertension in adults, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.

John M. Giacona, PA, and colleagues examined the utility of standing BP. For standing BP, the researchers determined sensitivity and specificity using cutoffs derived from Youden’s Index, while for seated BP, they determined sensitivity and specificity using the cutoff of 130/80 mm Hg and 140/90 mm Hg, respectively. Among 125 participants (mean age, 49), sensitivity and specificity of seated systolic BP were 43% and 92%, respectively. For standing systolic BP/diastolic BP, cutoffs selected by Youden’s Index were 124/81 mm Hg according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association hypertension guidelines and 123.5/83.5 mm Hg according to the 2023 European Society of Hypertension guidelines. For standing systolic BP, sensitivity and specificity were 71% and 67%, respectively. For standing systolic BP, the area under the receiver operating curve was 0.81, significantly higher than seated systolic BP (0.70), when hypertension was defined as average 24-hour systolic BP greater than or equal to 125 mm Hg.