Effects of Peripheral Vasoconstriction on the Blood Pressure in the Finger, Measured Continuously by a New Noninvasive Method (The Finapres®)

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Abstract
Whether vasoconstiction alters the ability of a noninvasive method (Finapres) of continuously measuring arterial blood pressure in the finger to function accurately was determined. The response of the Finapres to blood pressures determined simultaneously by an oscillometric technique (Dinamap) was compared in 6 anesthetized patients. Vasoconstriction was detected from a photoelectric plethysmogram, which was recorded continuously from an adjacent finger. Vasoconstriction was defined as a decrease in amplitude to less than 1/2 of its highest values in one and the same patient. From the 378 paired blood pressure readings obtained in this study, 51% took place in such a vasoconstricted state. Diastolic and mean blood pressures in the finger were, on the average, 9 mmHg below those in the upper arm and the systolic pressure was 7 mmHg above that in the upper arm. The Finapres evidently keeps functioning well during peripheral vasoconstriction and is a recommendable method to monitor arterial blood pressure in the finger.