The most accurate blood pressure measurements are taken at home. That is because the pressure measurement in many doctor’s offices is done incorrectly. The biggest problem is the nurse move patients from the waiting room to the exam room and takes the blood pressure right away. It is very likely to be higher than it really is because even that much exercise temporarily raises it. The reading is artificially high. Your blood pressure is like any other test in medicine. It must be accurate to be helpful.
For your blood pressure to be accurate, these conditions must be met. You should sit quietly for 5 minutes with both feet on the floor, the arms and back supported, and with an empty bladder. The cuff size should match the upper arm size and the measuring device should be validated. None of that is hard, but it is essential for accurate blood pressure testing.
If your blood pressure device is not validated, you cannot be sure that the measurement is accurate. “For clinic and home blood pressure (BP) monitoring, hypertension guidelines recommend using automated upper arm cuff BP-measuring devices that have undergone adequate clinical validation. These validated devices have proven accuracy and greater precision than nonvalidated devices. Patients may obtain a device by online purchase, but recent reports detailed a high prevalence of nonvalidated devices on international e-commerce websites.” This link goes to a list of validated instruments that you can have confidence in. My own home pressure monitor is made by Omron.
True!! My doctors office reading is often 50 points higher than at home. I had a never seen before doc scare the cookies out of me during a preop after an accident. I was frightened as this was a major surgery on the arm I do everything with. Duh. Of course I would be elevated. Every doc after that got the same high readings requiring higher meds. Finally my functional medicine doctor slowly worked with me on several issues and knows when I’m there it’s higher so I do 5 days of relaxed readings and send them to her now and then. I now am in only a 25 mg Losartan. 75 this year. Very normal readings now.