Introduction The Mercury sphygmomanometer has been used for more than 100 years to measure blood pressure. There are increasing concerns regarding mercury toxicity and its effects on the human health and the environment. Non-mercurial Aneroid sphygmomanometers have flooded the market, although very few complying with standards. The aim of this study was to determine whether conversion to aneroid manometers would cause a systematic shift in measured blood pressure. This study is important in ensuring the quality and consistency of blood pressure measurements taken across hospital clinics.

Methods We examined 83 volunteers who were residents of Dehradun. Two blood pressure readings were taken by a trained observer for each volunteer using the aneroid and mercury sphygmomanometers randomly. The instruments were subjected to grading using the criteria from the British Hypertensive Society.

Results There was no statistically significant difference in the mean systolic (−3.62±4.88) or diastolic (−2.36±3.77) blood pressure measurements obtained by either sphygmomanometer. The values of the SBP and DBP from both the instruments showed a linear correlation with systolic blood pressure (SBP r=0.94***; DBP r=0.92***).

Conclusions The study has demonstrated that the aneroid device achieved a grade of B performance according to the criteria described by the British Hypertensive society, when used at clinical settings.