High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a very common health problem around the world.
If it’s not treated, it can lead to serious health issues such as heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.
Doctors usually check for high blood pressure in clinics, but a new study shows that checking your blood pressure at home might give you more accurate results.
This study was done by researchers at Kaiser Permanente, a major healthcare group in the United States. From 2017 to 2019, they worked with 12 primary care centers in Western Washington and studied 510 adults who were at high risk of developing high blood pressure.
They split the participants into three groups. The first group had their blood pressure measured during regular visits to the doctor’s office. The second group used a home blood pressure monitor to check their own blood pressure.
The third group used blood pressure kiosks, which are machines often found in pharmacies or clinics that take your blood pressure automatically.
To figure out which method worked best, the researchers also used a special device called a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABPM). This device is worn on the body and takes blood pressure readings throughout the day and night.
It is considered the most accurate way to measure blood pressure because it shows how it changes over time, including while a person is asleep.
When they compared the results, the researchers found that the readings taken at home were almost the same as those taken by the ABPM. This means that home blood pressure monitors can be very accurate.
However, the blood pressure readings taken at the doctor’s office were often too low. This means that many people in the clinic group were told their blood pressure was normal when it was actually high. As a result, more than half of the people in that group were not correctly diagnosed.
On the other hand, the kiosk readings were often too high. This means that some people might have been told they had high blood pressure when they really didn’t. This could lead to unnecessary worry or treatment.
These results suggest that only using clinic readings might not be the best way to check for high blood pressure. A person’s blood pressure can change depending on the time of day, how stressed they are, or how comfortable they feel. Because of this, clinic readings may not give a full picture of someone’s health.
The study also showed that many people liked checking their blood pressure at home. It’s more comfortable, easier to do often, and can help people feel more in control of their health. This supports the idea that home monitoring is a good choice for many people.
While current health guidelines do recommend using either ABPM or home monitors to confirm a diagnosis of high blood pressure, many doctors still mostly rely on clinic readings. This study may help change that and encourage more use of home monitors.
More research is needed to figure out the best ways to include home monitoring in daily healthcare. But this study sends a clear message: if you want to know your real blood pressure, checking it at home might be your best choice.
This study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about why checking blood pressure while lying down is very important and lowering top blood pressure number to less than 120 mm Hg effectively prevents heart disease.
For more about blood pressure, please read studies that turmeric and vitamin D may boost blood pressure control in type 2 diabetes and scientists find link between blood pressure drugs and bowel diseases.
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