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Medical Definition of Silent gap
1. The period during which Korotkoff sounds indicating true systolic pressure fade away and reappear at a lower pressure point; responsible for errors made in recording falsely low systolic blood pressure, especially in hypertensive patients, of up to 25 mm Hg, and avoided by pumping the cuff 30 mm Hg beyond palpable systolic pressure. Synonym: silent gap. (05 Mar 2000)