my bp tends to be high and i was about to start a new b/p med and began to question my auto b/p cuff. it said 200/90 pulse 90,,,, clinic said 168/78 p- 68. as i sat here i did a po2 finger monitor and got a pulse of 78,,,, manually counting it was 64. i fell into the convenience trap. iv done hundreds of manual b/p readings and cant find my old ems kit right now,,, but manual is was more accurate. it is not hard to do a manual b/p , easy to learn and i really dont recommend auto b/p cuffs for bug out/ emergency kits.they are ok, but dont trust them. seems so simple now. 600hrs of medical training and i still make mistakes. i think il get a new manual b/p cuff before i start the new meds. https://www.shopmedvet.com/McKesson...e-Pocket-Size-Handheld-Adult-Large-Cuff-Navy- sorry Sphygmomanometer yes i copy/pasted that.
I almost was taken to the hospital several years back when my BP was 271/124. Then the EMS showed up and used a cuff, I was 120/80 like always. The company nurse threw out the automatic one and apologized.
Have bp checked every 2 weeks for chemo. Different with manual in each arm, different if cross legs, different in each ankle, different if taken when walk in and when the exam is finished 20 min or so later. Guess it is a moving target and I don't really know what to say about automatic ones. Medical grade ones at chemo station move around all during the treatment. Probably blood pressure changing but may be reading errors. Trust manual reading by a good nurse over a circuit board and a mike that attempts to decide when the blood pressure is higher than the cuff restriction. Manual one doesn't need batteries or calibration as much either, Agree on second opinion for changes in bp medications.
Every time I hit the base clinic, I always ask for manual BP. I've run across 'med techs' that don't know how or have never pulled a manual BP
One problem with manual BP cuffs that I noted back when I gave blood every eight weeks was that depending on who was doing the reading the numbers would vary. I carried a card, and they entered the numbers and their initials each visit. It was a question of "how good is the nurse's hearing?". One particular nurse consistently might list 120/80 while the other nurses would list 130/70 (numbers made up for illustration purposes only). The other nurses could hear the initial change sooner while the pressure was higher, and the second change later when the pressure was lower.
I took my auto BP machine (vintage late 90's) with me to a provider appointment last year for an accuracy check. It was spot on. In addition during my last stay in the hospital where they check blood sugar like 87 times a day (felt like it) I compared my Libra sensor and it was always very close to the stick finger reading. It's a good idea to have any medical measurement device periodically checked against your Dr.'s.
"It's a good idea to have any medical measurement device periodically checked against your Dr.'s." ditto. i think they have their place. you can also do b/p by palpation,,, car crashes are noisy scenes and basically you feel the pulse instead of hear it. like any skill it takes practice but might be a good backup for you.
If you practice you can visually see when the needle detects a pulse as it will begin to bounce. Pay attention to the corresponding number on the gauge and again when it drops off to get your systolic and diastolic readings.
