Reasons for inaccurate home blood pressure readings

Reasons for inaccurate home blood pressure readings

 

Do you have a home blood pressure device? Have you ever wondered if it is accurate and how you would know?
A study from the University of Alberta says 70% of home blood pressure monitor readings are inaccurate, by a substantial margin.
It was not a huge study (only 85 people with high blood pressure) but perhaps we can learn from it.

Reasons for home blood pressure reading inaccuracy

1. Arm size - Mismatch between arm circumference and the cuff size.
   Generally, the cuffs are one-size-fits-all, but as the arm circumference rose much above 33 cm, the accuracy declined
2. User error - Some folks did not put the cuff on correctly, or follow other directions.

How to check the accuracy of your home blood pressure device

First, bring your at-home monitor with you to your next doctor's visit and check it against the doc's machine.
Second, have your pharmacist instruct you in proper usage, and then try it out right there and compare its reading to the pharmacy's in-store blood pressure monitor. Almost all pharmacies now have stations where you can check your blood pressure