Accuracy Of Blood Pressure Kits Needs To Be Determined
There are approximately 60 million people with high blood pressure in the United States and most of them need to frequently check their pressure to help the doctor determine if the medication they are prescribing is doing its job. Many of the patients are using home blood pressure kits to take their blood pressure daily or more frequently, to help make a more accurate diagnosis of their medical needs.
There are many different types of blood pressure kits on the market and where they are purchased are not nearly as important as the type being used and their accuracy. Whether the patient buys a sphygmomanometer and uses a stethoscope to take their blood pressure at home or one of the different digital blood pressure kits, the unit should be taken to doctor's office periodically and verified for accuracy against the professional unit used in the doctor's office.
Although the blood pressure kits that use a pressure cuff and stethoscope are considered much more accurate, some patients cannot hear the blood flowing through the arteries and prefer using one of the digital automatic blood pressure kits. While these kits are easier to use, the position of the hand as well as body temperature can affect the accuracy of the readings.
Simplicity Does Not Always Equate To Accuracy
There are many different types of blood pressure kits on the market, include those that strap onto the wrist or simply attach to a finger. While these are considerably more convenient and easier to use, they can be affected by many different influences causing the readings to be less than accurate. If the patient uses one of these blood pressure kits when they compare the results to the readings obtained in the doctor's office, they will need to hold their arm or fingers in the same position each time it is used.
The blood pressure kits that use a stethoscope, a pressure cuff and sphygmomanometer deliver the most accurate readings and with most of them, the blood pressure can be taken by the user. When buying one in the store, the user will need to make sure they can not only hear through the stethoscope, but also be able to read the numbers on the equipment.
The same is true for the digital blood pressure kits where the numbers may not be large enough to be read by all users. While the best method is to have someone else take the readings with the more accurate blood pressure cuffs, if a unit from one of the many blood pressure kits has been verified as accurate at the doctor's office, it will help the doctor and patient work together to keep their blood pressure under control.
