HE REFERENCE METHOD FOR blood pressure (BP) measurement during clinical consultations is the auscultatory method with a mercury sphygmomanometer. This method has been used to demonstrate the relationship between BP and cardiovascular risk. A meta-analysis of individual data from almost 1 million adults participating in 61 prospective studies precisely established the prognostic value of this method of measurement: for each increase of 10 mm Hg in systolic BP (SBP) or 5 mm Hg in diastolic BP (DBP), the average risk of cerebrovascular mortality increases by 40% and the risk of mortality from ischemic heart disease by 30%. 1 The mercury sphygmomanometer, used during clinical consultations, is also the tool that has demonstrated the benefit of antihypertensive treatment. In the first metaanalysis of randomized controlled trials using the sphygmomanometer, a decrease in DBP of 5 mm Hg to 6 mm Hg was associated with a 42% reduction in the risk of stroke syndrome and a 14% reduction in the risk of coronary events. 2

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