What does RR mean?
When talking about blood pressure, you'll often come across the abbreviation RR. It stands for Riva Rocci and is commonly used in medicine to refer to blood pressure.
The most common way of measuring blood pressure today is still very similar to the Italian doctor's method. An air-filled cuff is still used to briefly interrupt blood flow in a vessel, and a pressure gauge is used to measure blood pressure. Feeling the radial pulse is now less common, but it still has its place, particularly in emergency care. More commonly, the Korotkoff sounds are listened for with a stethoscope, or oscillations in the blood vessel are detected, as most electronic blood pressure monitors do.
Blood pressure is measured in mmHg (millimeters of mercury).
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 01/2026).
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.
