Reliability and validity of portable blood pressure/pulse units during a competitive challenge

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the reliability and validity of recordings from three portable blood pressure/pulse units compared with simultaneous recordings from a polygraph used as the standard for these comparisons. The units tested included the Sears Digital Z153, Industrial Biomedical Sensor (IBS) Digital SD-700, and the Sphygmostat B-350/PU-102 (analog scale). Thirty healthy subjects were exposed to Pac-Man video game and mental arithmetic stressors. Each stressor was preceded by relaxation and followed by recovery periods. During each period, systolic/diastolic blood pressure and pulse were taken from one of the three portable units and the polygraph. The three units were reliable in recording systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate across baseline, stressor, and recovery periods. The blood pressure/pulse readings from the digital units by Sears and IBS corresponded more closely to simultaneous polygraph recordings than did the analog scale device by Sphygmostat. These results suggest that the digital blood pressure/pulse units employed in this investigation are reliable and valid measurement devices suitable for field research with clinical populations. © 1985 Psychonomic Society, Inc.