3 ms·

White coat syndrome cannot be ignored too. This is where your BP can increase by a lot just by being in a doctor's exam room. I went in for a checkup a few yea

by nickjj 9y ago

White coat syndrome cannot be ignored too. This is where your BP can increase by a lot just by being in a doctor's exam room. I went in for a checkup a few years ago and they took my BP and it was like 140/93 with an 87 heartbeat (I was 32 and in decent shape), so my doctor was like, hey I don't want to put you on any medication but your BP looks a little high, let's chart your BP at home for the next 2 months and see how it goes. So I grabbed a BP machine and about 3 times a week I took my BP, alternating arms and doing it at various times in the day. I could see that my BP was a little high for weeks, but by the end of the 2 months I had a 2 week stretch where it was about 120/80 steady. I took the same BP machine I bought and took it to the follow up exam and it was 138/87. That's a pretty big spike. Now I take it myself twice a month or so (just for good measure) and it's usually 120/80ish with a resting heart beat of 58-62. My dentist likes to take your BP before doing any type of work and it was 135/88 before a cleaning too. I don't know about you, but I generally don't like getting my BP taken. It causes some anxiety. I wouldn't immediately discount high BP to white coat syndrome, but you should ask your doctor if you can track your BP at home if you're on the cusp of high BP.

vwcx 9y ago
Can you recommend a particular BP machine? I have $100 in an FSA I need to spend in the next 16 hours and I've had a similar experience to you with white coat syndrome.
- nickjj 9y ago
  My doctor recommended this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NY6JXA https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NY6JXA (it's $42). Keep in mind, that I'm not a doctor and I don't know if this one will work for you. I would definitely ask your doctor. Maybe run this one by him/her for a confirmation.
YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
I've read a couple of studies [1] [2] [3], relating specifically to home BP monitoring for kidney patients. The studies seemed to indicate that home BP monitoring ("ambulatory BP monitoring", ABPM) is more accurate than office, or dialysis unit, monitoring. I think one part of this may be because ABMP allows for more frequent measurements to be taken throughout the day and under similar circumstances each time. There may also be a factor of allowing yourself to relax a bit before taking your BP. Guidelines for BP measurement instruct you to sit still for a few minutes, before taking your BP, which is something that is often not convenient to do in a doctor's office (for instance, if your BP is taken the moment you walk in etc). ___________ [1] Ambulatory blood pressure in chronic kidney disease; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23595357 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23595357 "ABPM has been shown to be a better tool for predicting CV risk, CKD progression, end stage renal disease (ESRD) or death than office-based pressures." [2] Home blood pressure monitoring in CKD; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24529535 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24529535 "Home BP monitoring provides more data than conventional clinic or dialysis-unit BP measurements and is relatively easy to accomplish, is cost-effective, and has been shown to have an increasing role in the management of BP in the CKD population." [3] "The complex relationship between CKD and ambulatory blood pressure patterns."; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25704346 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25704346 "ABPM has been shown to be superior to clinical BP measurement for correlating with end-organ damage and prognosis in CKD."

by nickjj 9y ago

vwcx 9y ago

Can you recommend a particular BP machine? I have $100 in an FSA I need to spend in the next 16 hours and I've had a similar experience to you with white coat syndrome.

nickjj 9y ago
My doctor recommended this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NY6JXA https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NY6JXA (it's $42). Keep in mind, that I'm not a doctor and I don't know if this one will work for you. I would definitely ask your doctor. Maybe run this one by him/her for a confirmation.

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago

I've read a couple of studies [1] [2] [3], relating specifically to home BP monitoring for kidney patients. The studies seemed to indicate that home BP monitoring ("ambulatory BP monitoring", ABPM) is more accurate than office, or dialysis unit, monitoring. I think one part of this may be because ABMP allows for more frequent measurements to be taken throughout the day and under similar circumstances each time. There may also be a factor of allowing yourself to relax a bit before taking your BP. Guidelines for BP measurement instruct you to sit still for a few minutes, before taking your BP, which is something that is often not convenient to do in a doctor's office (for instance, if your BP is taken the moment you walk in etc). ___________ [1] Ambulatory blood pressure in chronic kidney disease; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23595357 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23595357 "ABPM has been shown to be a better tool for predicting CV risk, CKD progression, end stage renal disease (ESRD) or death than office-based pressures." [2] Home blood pressure monitoring in CKD; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24529535 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24529535 "Home BP monitoring provides more data than conventional clinic or dialysis-unit BP measurements and is relatively easy to accomplish, is cost-effective, and has been shown to have an increasing role in the management of BP in the CKD population." [3] "The complex relationship between CKD and ambulatory blood pressure patterns."; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25704346 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25704346 "ABPM has been shown to be superior to clinical BP measurement for correlating with end-organ damage and prognosis in CKD."