Oscillometric or Korotkoff blood pressure measurement?
Blood pressure measurement by Korotkoff
When a doctor uses a stethoscope, they determine the readings from the sounds of the blood flow. This method was developed by the physician Nikolai S. Korotkow and is called the Korotkow (or Korotkoff) method. Korotkow presented this technique on 8 Nov 1905 at a seminar in St. Petersburg. The sounds heard during the blood pressure measurement are called Korotkoff sounds. With the Korotkoff method, systolic and diastolic blood pressure are measured separately; with the oscillometric method, the two values are derived from the oscillation.Oscillometric blood pressure measurement
Most digital blood pressure monitors measure blood pressure oscillometrically. They record the oscillations of the pulsing blood and calculate the blood pressure from those signals.
Modern blood pressure monitors use the oscillometric method; before approval they are validated to ensure that the displayed values match those from the Korotkow measurement.
Illustration: measuring with an oscillometric blood pressure monitor
1. The cuff is applied.
2. The cuff is inflated until it stops the blood flow.
3. As the air is released, oscillations in the blood flow are detected.
4. Once the blood flows again without turbulence, the measurement is complete.
Sources:
This article is from Tensana – the leading app since 2011, helping hundreds of thousands of people monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 11/2025).
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as outpatient care, and has headed the specialist editorial team at Tensana since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as an emergency medical technician, first responder, and in various areas of therapy and emergency care, she provides well-founded, practical, and reliably verified information.
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as outpatient care, and has headed the specialist editorial team at Tensana since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as an emergency medical technician, first responder, and in various areas of therapy and emergency care, she provides well-founded, practical, and reliably verified information.
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