Recommendations for blood pressure measurement in animals: summary of an AHA scientific statement from the Council on High Blood Pressure Research, Professional and Public Education Subcommittee.

Accurate and meaningful measurements of blood pressure (BP) are often critical to the interpretation of studies of vascular biology, atherosclerosis, and other forms of cardiovascular disease. Although many research scientists have embraced advanced molecular technologies for studying cardiovascular function and disease pathogenesis, a surprising number of the same investigators continue to use suboptimal techniques for measuring BP in experimental animals. To address this problem and assist investigators in selecting optimal methods for BP monitoring, the American Heart Association (AHA) has developed a scientific statement on recommendations for BP measurement in experimental animals. These recommendations for BP measurement are briefly summarized in this article. The complete text and discussion of the recommendations are published online in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology as well as in print in other AHA journals.1 Comprehensive recommendations for BP measurement in humans have also been developed and are published in the AHA journal Hypertension.2