[Blood pressure measurements using three different cuff sizes]

The use of blood pressure cuffs containing bladders of appropriate size for the arm is a known prerequisite for correct blood pressure measurements. The Tricuff, containing three inflatable bladders of varying dimensions, one of which is automatically selected to fit the arm circumference, was compared to a standard cuff (12 x 35 cm) in 137 persons. In persons with large arms (circumference > or = 32 cm) measurement with the Tricuff showed on average 19.2 mm Hg lower systolic pressure and 12.9 mm Hg lower diastolic pressure than with the standard cuff. In persons with small arms (< 32 cm) the corresponding differences were 9.0 mm Hg and 7.5 mm Hg. Compared to the Tricuff, the standard cuff overestimates blood pressure in people with a large arm circumference. Overestimation may also be caused by the rubber bladder bulging more from below the standard soft nylon cuff than what the firmer texture of the Tricuff allows, resulting in falsely high values even in persons with normal arm circumference.

Changes in ventricular fibrillation threshold during acute hypothermia. A model for future studies

Hypothermia and rewarming are associated with an increased incidence of lethal arrhythmias in man. The relationship between reduction in body temperature and ventricular fibrillation threshold was studied in 7 pentobarbital anaesthetized dogs using programmable electrical stimulation while cooling and rewarming between 37 degrees C and 25 degrees C in steps of 3 degrees C. Fibrillation threshold was defined as the number of extrastimuli required to evoke ventricular fibrillation. QRS-durations and corrected QT-intervals (QTc) were measured from surface electrocardiograms. Monophasic action potential durations were recorded from the base and apex of the heart. Fibrillation threshold decreased with decreasing temperatures; e.g., at 37 degrees C ventricular fibrillation was not inducible after 5 extrastimuli, while at 25 degrees C only 2 extrastimuli were required. From 37 degrees C to 25 degrees C QRS-width, monophasic action potential durations and QTc increased while conduction velocity decreased. The differential effects on conduction and monophasic action potential duration provide a basis for induction of ventricular fibrillation during acute hypothermia. This model of hypothermia-induced ventricular fibrillation should prove useful for future studies aimed at understanding the mechanisms responsible for hypothermia-related deaths.

Wife or Frau, women do worse: a comparison of men and women in the United States and Germany after marital dissolution

Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the German Socio-Economic Panel show that in the Federal Republic of Germany, women experience even sharper drops in economic status immediately after a marital split than in the United States, while German and American men fare about the same. German social policy does little to reduce the disparities.