Blood pressure measured at home more accurate than doctor’s reading: DAK
Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said that people were “more likely to get an accurate blood pressure reading at home than at the doctor’s office.”
A communiqué issued by DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan said, “Home measurement gives a more accurate picture of an individual’s blood pressure than reading in a medical setting.”
Dr Nisar said that the blood pressure reading was “higher when it is taken in a medical setting than it is when taken at home.”
“This is because of white-coat effect which happens as you are nervous about having your blood pressure checked by a doctor,” he explained.
The DAK President said that “up to 50% patients with high office blood pressure readings (checked by doctors) have normal readings in their homes”.
“Home monitoring reduces the need for clinic visits and involves people more in their care which can bolster their efforts to make behavior changes and take their medication,” he said.
He further added that readings taken at home “provide a better sense of how well a medication or other blood pressure lowering strategy is working.”
Dr Nisar said that research had found that “regular home blood pressure monitoring better predicts a patient’s risk of blood pressure related outcomes such as heart attack, stroke and kidney damage”.
He recommended people to self monitor their blood pressure in the comforts of their homes by using automatic home blood pressure devices that are precise, accurate and easy to use.
“Under new guidelines anyone with blood pressure higher than130/80 is considered to have hypertension or high blood pressure. The new norms recommend home blood pressure monitoring which provides a more reliable assessment of actual blood pressure than office blood pressure,” said Dr Nisar.
KV News
