Dangerous Shortcuts Your Doctor May Be Taking When
Measuring Your Blood Pressure
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Did you know that your trusted family doctor may be taking a shortcut during
your office visits that might be putting your health at risk? I know it sounds
hard to believe, but it\'s true. As a result of trying to squeeze as many
appointments as possible into their daily schedules, doctors sometimes skip
vital steps during your physical exams.
It starts when you are rushed into the doctor\'s office and the very first thing
they do is take your blood pressure. This actually may be the worst time during
your visit to do such a test, because the rushing and hurrying combined with the
anxiety of being in a doctor\'s office to begin with can automatically cause your
blood pressure to spike.
In situations like this your blood pressure readings can be
inaccurate or misleading. There are serious health consequences
that can happen to you from a misdiagnosis - in either
direction.
For someone with borderline high blood pressure, a false low
reading may delay the necessary precautions to lower it. Untreated high blood
pressure can lead to serious heart disease even decades down the road. On the
other side of the coin is the scenario that a false high reading is recorded and
a patient gets put unnecessarily on medication -- medication they will likely
have to take for the rest of their lives. For these reasons, it is
critical that health care providers give accurate blood pressure
readings.
There are three areas where improper blood pressure readings can far too easily
occur. One is with the procedures used in taking the blood pressure readings.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has established guidelines for taking blood
pressure readings which involves taking at least 4 different readings and
recording which were taken while standing and which while sitting.
Using the cuff, the AHA recommends taking the patient\'s blood
pressure reading TWICE, once on each arm, while the patient is in a standing
position. Then record the average of these two readings.
Next, doctors should take the patient\'s blood pressure TWICE, once on each arm,
while they are sitting and record the average of the two readings. It is advised
that the standing blood pressure
numbers be used as a reference only, but the average of sitting
measurement should be used as the most correct reading.
This procedure applies to taking measurements at home or at the
doctor\'s office. If the technician at your doctor\'s office does not
follow this procedure, request that they take more readings so that they can get
a more accurate assessment. They may be surprised if they have not done this
routinely how different the readings can be from one arm to the other or between
standing and sitting. Also, ask them to give you a few minutes to relax after
arriving at the office. If you can, try to be a little early for the appointment
so you can have plenty of time to rest.
The second area where blood pressure readings can be inaccurate is with faulty
equipment. Cuffs need to be calibrated periodically to be accurate. Doctor\'s
offices and labs should do this routinely, and you will need to maintain your
home system according to the manufacturer\'s instructions.
If you are buying a cuff for home use, it is a good idea to use a
manual cuff. Few of the automatic blood pressure cuffs on the
market for the general public are very accurate and easily lose
calibration. They tend to give false low readings and a false
sense of healthy blood pressure. The hospital grade automatic
cuffs are much more accurate, but not affordable to the average
person. A manual cuff still gives the most accurate reading. A
moderately priced cuff and stethoscope set can help you stay on top of your
blood pressure from home. That is, so long as you know what you are doing.
That brings us to the third area where errors can occur: operator
error. You must learn how to properly use the cuff and listen for a heartbeat.
Be sure to get proper training from a qualified health
care professional.
When doing the test at home, operator error often occurs when the cuff is not
made tight enough to get a loud enough heart beat. The cuff has to be pumped up
to the point that it is just starting to be uncomfortable. Next, make sure you
are in a quiet enough space that you can tell when the heart beat is starting
and stopping and then take careful note of the gauge\'s reading.
You can now see just how critical it is that your health care provider gives you
an accurate blood pressure reading,
but in this day an age of "assembly line" health care, it doesn\'t
always happen. To learn even more shocking facts about our modern health care
system and to discover easy and natural ways to lower your blood pressure and
improve your health, visit: The
Blood Pressure Miracle
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Frank Mangano is an active member of his community
who works diligently providing assistance to senior citizens
and probing as a health advocate to discover new and innovative
ways to promote well being. Find out how you can maintain
healthy blood pressure at: The
Blood Pressure Miracle
Discover many more safe and effective methods that will make a positive impact on your blood pressure level: The Blood Pressure Miracle
