Self BP Monitoring at Home Inaccurate and Unacceptable

Self BP Monitoring at Home Inaccurate and Unacceptable

dr RAM,HIV /AIDS,HEPATITIS ,SEX DISEASES & WEAKNESS expert,New Delhi,India, profdrram@gmail.com,+917838059592,+919832025033,ON WHATSAPP

Many devices are sold openly in market now a days and most persons are asked to record their BP causally if they are suffering from Hypertension or raised BP or regularly to monitor BP if on some anti hypertensive therapy.But self monitoring of BP has not been found accurate and is not acceptable by Physician to decide the treatment according to a study.The findings are extremely relevant given millions of patients are asked to monitor their blood pressure through a device at home and report the results back to their doctor.                       

           "High blood pressure is the number one cause of death and disability in the world," said Jennifer Ringrose from The University of Alberta in Canada."Monitoring for and treating hypertension can decrease the consequences of this disease. We need to make sure that home blood pressure readings are accurate," said Ringrose, who led the study.Ringrose and her team tested dozens of home monitors and found they were not accurate within five millimetres of mercury (mmHg) about 70 per cent of the time.The devices were off the mark by 10 mmHg about 30 per cent of the time.

           "Compare the blood pressure machine measurement with a blood pressure measurement in clinic before exclusively relying upon home blood pressure readings," said Ringrose."What is really important is to do several blood pressure measurements and base treatment decisions on multiple readings. Taking home readings empowers patients and is helpful for clinicians to have a bigger picture rather than just one snapshot in time," said Ringrose.

            Raj Padwal, a professor at University of Alberta, said that no one should have drugs started or changed based on one or two measurements taken at a single point in time unless the measurements are clearly elevated.

           So people should be advised to monitor BP at home too but they should cross check with their physician in clinic or hospital at some interval too and should not start or stop any medicine on self monitoring of BP as it may be hazardous for them as now in most middle and upper class people SELF MONITORING OF BP AT home is very commonly found and they start many medcines self too as advertised on TV ,social and print media against all ethics of medical and pharma science.Same way if some time they see very low or High BP should not be very tense and panicky  as BP instrument working on air dial often becomes faulty and should contact their physician soon.