Blood pressure management is crucial for preventing severe health issues like heart attacks, strokes, and kidney damage.
A recent study by investigators at Kaiser Permanente offers significant insights into the accuracy of blood pressure monitoring, particularly comparing readings taken in different settings.
Home vs Clinic: A Comparative Study
The study, conducted across 12 Kaiser Permanente primary care centers in Western Washington from 2017 to 2019, involved 510 adults. The goal was to assess the accuracy of blood pressure measurements in various settings: in-clinic, at home, and at kiosks in medical clinics or pharmacies.
Participants also underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), considered the gold standard for hypertension diagnosis.
The findings were revealing. Home blood pressure readings aligned more closely with ABPM results, while in-clinic readings often showed lower systolic measures, leading to a significant underdiagnosis of hypertension in many high-risk individuals.
On the other hand, kiosk readings tended to be higher, posing a risk of overdiagnosing hypertension.
These results underscore the reliability of home blood pressure monitoring, supporting its use over traditional in-clinic measurements for hypertension diagnosis.
Patient Preferences and Measurement Reliability
Another study found that patients preferred home-based blood pressure monitoring, citing its reliability and comfort.
Current medical guidelines recommend a secondary confirmatory test after high in-clinic readings, either by ABPM or home monitoring, before confirming a hypertension diagnosis.
However, many healthcare providers rely primarily on in-clinic measurements for these confirmatory readings, potentially compromising diagnostic accuracy.
Implications for Hypertension Diagnosis
This study is significant for its extensive participant base, real-world setting, and the use of practicing medical personnel for measurements, enhancing the credibility of the findings.
It highlights the need to re-evaluate the reliance on in-clinic blood pressure measurements in diagnosing hypertension.
Further exploration into factors affecting blood pressure, such as dietary influences like black licorice and plant pigments, can provide additional insights for managing hypertension.
The research led by Dr. Beverly B. Green and published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine emphasizes the importance of accurate and comfortable blood pressure monitoring methods.
It advocates for the broader adoption of home blood pressure monitoring as a more accurate and patient-preferred method for diagnosing hypertension.
Such an approach aligns with patient comfort and ensures more reliable diagnoses, leading to better-informed healthcare decisions and management of hypertension.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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