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I don't know about you but getting somewhat concise readings for my blood pressure at several facilities has been difficult in here. When I went to the medical

I don't know about you but getting somewhat concise readings for my blood pressure at several facilities has been difficult in here. When I went to the medical exams to get my drivingllicense one year ago I was told my blood pressure was a bit high - maybe due to the nervousness of being checked, but it was better to ask my doctor - both of my parents suffer from high blood pressure. So I did. He told me my blood pressure was high and gave me that famous table to fill up with daily readings for two weeks. My sister (physiotherapist) has a sphygmomanometer at home but she will scream at me to be perfectly still and seated for at least 5 minutes before doing the reading - and it _always_ was 120/80. Went several days to a nearby pharmacy and they gave me a little chair to be sat for 10 minutes before standing up and going to a small cubicle where they did the measurement with an electronic sphygmomanometer. Measurements there always were fairly inconsistent and above 131/87 - going up to 150/87. Also went to several other points to get my blood pressure measured and they always had a different method and (unsurprisingly) yielded different results. But for some reason when they measured with analogic/traditional sphygmomanometers, the measurements always were lower compared with electronic ones. Fortunately could afford a decent electronic sphygmomanometer for myself and started doing my own measurements, which are fluctuating between 117/77 and 122/82.

pixl97 3y ago
When you say you went to the pharmacy and doctors office, did you drive? BP level seems to highly correlate with the environment you're in, stressful driving can bring it up and keep it high for a while.
gaetgu 3y ago
This is an interesting point. I know for sure that I have been taught in school to never trust the electronic BP machines, since they can be pretty far off for some (but not all) people. Instead, using a sphygmomanometer is much more likely to give accurate results. Anecdotally, I always have a super weird initial blood pressure reading when I go to the doctor and they use the electric machine (one time it was 112/95), but when it is rechecked with a sphygmomanometer it tends to level out at somewhere around 130/85.
- hedora 3y ago
  If you have a portable meter, you can always take it to the doctor and do a back-to-back or simultaneous reading. You will probably find that your blood pressure varies more over a 10 minute window than the difference in readings between the two meters.
- jaclaz 3y ago
  The way a manual sphigmomanometer works is different from the way the electronic ones do[1], I would not be surprised if for a few people something else affects the reading of the pressure in the arm band. [1] Oscillometric vs. Auscultatory, JFYI: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36550719 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36550719

pixl97 3y ago

When you say you went to the pharmacy and doctors office, did you drive? BP level seems to highly correlate with the environment you're in, stressful driving can bring it up and keep it high for a while.

gaetgu 3y ago

This is an interesting point. I know for sure that I have been taught in school to never trust the electronic BP machines, since they can be pretty far off for some (but not all) people. Instead, using a sphygmomanometer is much more likely to give accurate results. Anecdotally, I always have a super weird initial blood pressure reading when I go to the doctor and they use the electric machine (one time it was 112/95), but when it is rechecked with a sphygmomanometer it tends to level out at somewhere around 130/85.

hedora 3y ago
If you have a portable meter, you can always take it to the doctor and do a back-to-back or simultaneous reading. You will probably find that your blood pressure varies more over a 10 minute window than the difference in readings between the two meters.
jaclaz 3y ago
The way a manual sphigmomanometer works is different from the way the electronic ones do[1], I would not be surprised if for a few people something else affects the reading of the pressure in the arm band. [1] Oscillometric vs. Auscultatory, JFYI: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36550719 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36550719