The way an Auscultatory gap can be prevented is palpitating the radial artery.
To avoid missing an auscultatory gap, the radial artery should be palpated while the cuff pressure is rapidly increased to a level of 30 mmHg above the disappearance of the pulse, followed by auscultation for the Korotkoff sounds during slow deflation of cuff pressure at 2-3 mmHg/second.
Auscultatory gap is caused by carotid atherosclerosis, and to increased arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients.
There is evidence that Auscultatory Gaps are related to carotid atherosclerosis, and to increased arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients. This appears to be independent of age.
Another cause of an auscultatory gap is believed to be venous stasis within the limb that is being used for the measurement.
The auscultatory gap which is a transient disappearance of Korotkoff sounds between systolic and diastolic pressures during blood pressure cuff deflation, is thought to cause underestimation of true systolic blood pressure; its prognostic and pathophysiologic correlates have not been well described.
An Auscultatory Gap, also known as the silent gap, is a period of diminished or absent Korotkoff Sounds during the manual measurement of blood pressure.
It is associated with reduced peripheral blood flow caused by changes in the pulse wave.
The presence of an auscultatory gap during manual BP measurement—the temporary disappearance of the Korotkoff sounds during cuff deflation—leads to a potentially important underestimate of systolic BP if undetected.
The auscultatory gap, "le trou auscultatoire" of the French, is that interval of absolute or relative silence occasionally found on listening over an artery during deflation of the blood pressure cuff; it usually begins at a variable point below the systolic pressure and continues for from 10 to 50 mm.
To avoid missing an auscultatory gap, the radial artery should be palpated while the cuff pressure is rapidly increased to a level of 30 mmHg above the disappearance of the pulse, followed by auscultation for the Korotkoff sounds during slow deflation of cuff pressure at 2-3 mmHg/second.
The auscultatory method is based on the detection of Korotkoff sounds issued from the acoustic transudcer signal. Its main advantages are (1) similarities with usual clinical measurement of BP; and (2) accurate detection of systolic and diastolic pressures on the appearance and disappearance of sounds.