Acute Caremiddle twist
A 58-year-old man is seen in a pre-admission clinic before a hernia repair. He weighs 138 kg and his upper arm circumference is 42 cm. The nurse records 176/98 mmHg with the automated machine and the cuff that lives on it, whose bladder is 12 cm wide; the arm was supported at heart level. His pulse is 78 per minute and regular. He takes no antihypertensive and has no diabetes and no kidney disease. Which one of the following is the most likely source of error in this measurement?