If a blood pressure cuff is too small, the reading will be:

• A. Low
• B. Normal
• C. High
• D. Inaccurate

Answer: (C)

When the cuff is too small for the arm, more external pressure is needed to compress the artery, so the reading tends to show a higher pressure than the person’s true blood pressure. This overestimation makes the systolic (and often diastolic) values appear elevated, giving a high reading. To avoid this, use a properly sized cuff—the bladder width should be about 40% of the arm's circumference and the length should cover 80–100% of it. While inaccurate results can happen in any case, the most consistent effect of a small cuff is a falsely high measurement, which is why the reading is interpreted as high.