Study Finds Blood Pressure Cuff Use Has Benefits

(Ames, IA) — An Iowa State University study finds that a simple procedure could help to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Jim Lang is a professor of kinesiology who says they found putting a blood pressure cuff on test patients for five minutes or so, three or four times, had surprising results. Lang says it improved the process and improved small blood vessel function in the skin and in other places besides where the blood pressure cuff was administered. He says repeated cases of reduced circulation with a blood pressure cuff may be helping reduce tissue damage and prevent the worst outcomes of heart attacks and strokes. Lang’s study was recently published in the Journal of Physiology.