Wideband external pulse recording during cuff deflation: a new technique for evaluation of the arterial pressure pulse and measurement of blood pressure.

Analysis of the external brachial pulse recorded during standard blood pressure cuff deflation with use of a transducer with a wide frequency response has revealed a reproducible pattern with three distinct components that we have labeled K1, K2, and K3. K1 is a low-amplitude, low-frequency signal that is present with cuff pressures above systolic pressure. K2 is a triphasic signal appearing at systolic pressure and disappearing at diastolic pressure, which approximately corresponds to the audible Korotkoff sound. K3 appears with cuff pressure between systolic and diastolic pressure and continues to be present below diastolic pressure. Intra-arterial pressure recordings made with a high-fidelity Millar catheter-tip manometer revealed K2 and K3 analogs. K3 resembles the intra-arterial pressure waveform and when calibrated according to the pulse pressure, noninvasive dK3/dt determinations correlated well with intra-arterial dP/dt measurements. The appearance/disappearance property of K2 was designated as the "K2 algorithm" and represents a new, objective noninvasive method for measurement of blood pressure. The K2 algorithm compares favorably with intra-arterial measurements, is more accurate than the auscultatory technique, and may be especially useful in clinical situations in which the auscultatory technique does not work well.