Blood pressure cuff size
Measure around the midpoint of your upper arm, then see which usual adult cuff band that circumference falls in. The range printed on the cuff you own wins if it says something else.
Blood pressure cuff size
Measure the bare upper arm at the midpoint between shoulder and elbow. Tape snug, not tight, arm relaxed at your side.
Many home monitors include a wide-range cuff, sometimes marked 22–42 cm. If your arm is inside the range printed on the cuff you already have, use that cuff.
| Cuff | Centimeters | Inches |
|---|---|---|
| Small adult | 22–26 | 8.7–10.2 |
| Adult | 27–34 | 10.6–13.4 |
| Large adult | 35–44 | 13.8–17.3 |
| Extra-large adult | 45–52 | 17.7–20.5 |
Illustrative adult bands from the AHA scientific statement on blood pressure measurement. Not a prescription, and not a sizing chart for children.
How to measure your arm
Relax the arm at your side. Find the midpoint between the bony tip of the shoulder and the elbow. Wrap a tape around the bare upper arm at that midpoint, level all the way around, snug enough to stay put and not tight enough to indent the skin. That number is what you enter. Centimeters and inches both work.
Where these bands come from
The four bands are the illustrative adult cuff sizes in the American Heart Association scientific statement on measuring blood pressure, and the same cut points published by Target:BP: small adult 22–26 cm, adult 27–34 cm, large adult 35–44 cm, extra-large adult 45–52 cm. Some older AHA tables call the largest band an adult thigh cuff. The checker rounds your measurement to the nearest centimeter, then picks the band.
Manufacturers do not all print these exact ranges. A line on the cuff itself, or an index line that shows when the cuff is wrapped correctly, is the instruction for that cuff.
A cuff that is too small
The wrong cuff is a common reason a home log disagrees with the clinic. A cuff that is too small can raise the systolic reading — published descriptions put the gap on the order of 10 mmHg. Do not “correct” a reading by subtracting a number in your head. Measure again with a cuff that fits, and log the number the monitor shows.
Band cut points, not a brand chart: Measurement of Blood Pressure in Humans (AHA scientific statement) · Selecting a cuff size (Target:BP)
Questions about cuff size
What size blood pressure cuff do I need?
It depends on the circumference of your upper arm at the midpoint, not on your shirt size. The usual adult bands run from 22–26 cm (small) through 27–34, 35–44, and 45–52 cm. Confirm against the range printed on the cuff.
I have a wide-range cuff marked 22–42 cm. Do I still need this chart?
If your arm is inside the range printed on that cuff, use it. Wide-range home cuffs are common and they do not match these four bands one-to-one. The chart is for when you are choosing or checking a size, not for overriding a cuff that already says it fits.
What if my arm is under 22 cm or over 52 cm?
The usual adult bands do not cover that. Ask a clinician or a pharmacist about a cuff made for that arm. This page does not recommend a child cuff or a wrist monitor from the number alone.
Does the right cuff size diagnose high blood pressure?
No. It only helps the monitor show a number worth logging. Category labels live on the blood pressure chart, and they are not a diagnosis either.