2.3.1. Blood pressure
An automatic pressure monitor (08A, CONTEC, Germany) was purchased to measure the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Following bladder emptying, the older women were assessed after at least 10 min of prior rest in a seated position with the back, arms, and legs uncrossed. The first assessment was taken in both arms to identify the arm with the highest blood pressure. The arm with the highest blood pressure (typically the dominant arm) was then subjected to two assessments, and a third evaluation was also conducted if the difference between the results was >5 mmHg. Procedures to measure blood pressure were carried out as proposed by Reddy et al. (