Measurement of Neonatal Blood Pressure: A New Method

Abstract

Psychophysiological research on the neonatal cardiac system has focused almost exclusively on heart rate. Other cardiovascular parameters such as blood pressure (BP) have been difficult, if not impossible, to examine in the newborn due to the difficulty involved in measurement. This study tested a new, non‐invasive device that simultaneously measured systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BP and heart rate in the newborn. Eighty healthy babies’ BP and heart rate were measured for the first 3 days of life and the findings were compared with previous reports in the literature. BP was found to increase on each of the first 3 days of life while mean heart rate did not change during this period. State of alertness significantly affected BP and heart rate, with sucking leading to the greatest rise in BP, while crying elicited the highest heart rates. The results indicated that this new non‐invasive technology provides an important advance that has considerable bearing on future studies of neonatal psychophysiology.

Influence of Behavioural State on Blood Pressure in Preterm Infants during the First 5 Days of Life

“…Oscillometric determination of blood pressure (BP) in critically ill newborns is an accepted method for non-invasive BP (NIBP) measurement (1)(2)(3). Extensive studies have shown excellent correlation between direct and oscillometric BP measurement ( 2 4 ) .…”