At-Home Hypertension Devices

According to a report presented at the American Society of Hypertension meeting in June 2003, at-home blood pressure measuring devices often are inaccurate because they are inappropriate for the person using them or incorrectly calibrated and sized. Indeed, a Mayo Clinic nurse practitioner in Jacksonville, Fla, reported that tests on more than 100 home monitoring devices found that about 20% yielded measurements that were off by at least 4 mm Hg. A change of 5 mm Hg, over or under, will affect treatment. To get accurate readings, the devices need to be calibrated by the patient?s health care provider before use, and the patient?s arm should be accurately measured, according to the report.