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Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

arstechnica.com

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Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#11

Post by voidfunc »

car wrote: post #9
SoftTalker wrote: post #8

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions.

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions. Thanks for letting us know that you are in fact not a doctor. Because your belief is patently wrong. Source: I am a doctor. https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/high-blood-pre...

I have high BP, I sort of see where OP is coming from... you need a lot of BP numbers to gain confidence about how bad the situation is. A one-off doctor visit once a year is not enough but it is often how the diagnosis is made.

My best recommendation for people is to get a BP cuff and just get comfortable with taking samplings periodically through the day. I take anywhere from 3 to 10 readings a day and over a month or two the data paints a good picture of your situation plus it makes you more comfortable with BP reads.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#12

Post by wmidwestranger »

car wrote: post #9
SoftTalker wrote: post #8

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions.

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions. Thanks for letting us know that you are in fact not a doctor. Because your belief is patently wrong. Source: I am a doctor. https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/high-blood-pre...

Well doctor, your staff prefers to take my blood pressure while talking to me and putting a thermometer in my mouth which I'm certain violates the protocol and the target numbers were lowered by a significant amount a few years ago to boot and most people would resent pharma companies even in the best of times, so may I just accept my miniscule stroke risk in peace please and maybe focus on the underlying issues?

I already have to piss all the time from the chlorthalidone which costs more than Netflix, though it was developed a half-century ago and is made by the ton. You missed the dehydration signal in my metabolic results and your renal imaging req came up clear but cost $2k.

Can you do anything to help me live because the medical industry is doing a lot to make not living look good, or not being a patient.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#13

Post by NikolaNovak »

lostlogin wrote: post #5
NikolaNovak wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh Gawd. My wife did not feel well last year and thought her pulse was going up. I figure I'd reassure her quickly (or notice an issue) with my Note 8. Unbeknowst to me, some samsung update put the hardware functionality behind some health app that wanted to setup a tracking profile and two factor authentication and my email and my phone and name and details and preferences and goals and 12 point health plan and what…

If just for rate, surely a finger and a 15 or 30 second measurement is at least as good? Obviously you wont get oxygenation though.

I agree and that's what's my Note 8 used to provide. As I said, some update made the mandatory a health or whatever app require an account, 2fa, and a lot of setup and personal data before it'd let me access the sensor read.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#14

Post by NikolaNovak »

westurner wrote: post #6
NikolaNovak wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh Gawd. My wife did not feel well last year and thought her pulse was going up. I figure I'd reassure her quickly (or notice an issue) with my Note 8. Unbeknowst to me, some samsung update put the hardware functionality behind some health app that wanted to setup a tracking profile and two factor authentication and my email and my phone and name and details and preferences and goals and 12 point health plan and what…

An open source app off Fdroid like HeartBeat may or may not have a similar error rate: https://github.com/berdosi/HeartBeat I think I picked up a dedicated unit finger pulse oximeter for like $20. FWIU Apple Watch is one product with FDA approval as a medical device (ECG Electrocardiogram) for detection of AFib Atrial Fibrillation and Parkinsons. Medical device design > Pathway to clearance or approval: https://en.wi…

Thx for all the tips :)

I did buy the separate $20 sp02 / pulse monitor after that episode. She has an apple watch now but I of course have zero confidence / will not trust the kindness of corporate strangers again to allow me access to my own hardware.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#16

Post by LeafItAlone »

wmidwestranger wrote: post #12
car wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions. Thanks for letting us know that you are in fact not a doctor. Because your belief is patently wrong. Source: I am a doctor. https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/high-blood-pre...

Well doctor, your staff prefers to take my blood pressure while talking to me and putting a thermometer in my mouth which I'm certain violates the protocol and the target numbers were lowered by a significant amount a few years ago to boot and most people would resent pharma companies even in the best of times, so may I just accept my miniscule stroke risk in peace please and maybe focus on the underlying issues? I a…

Sounds like you either need to communicate with your doctor better or find a new one.

Doctors are human and not all-knowing (no matter how some may come across) and the patient needs to be part of their care.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#17

Post by [deleted] »

wmidwestranger wrote: post #12
car wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions. Thanks for letting us know that you are in fact not a doctor. Because your belief is patently wrong. Source: I am a doctor. https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/high-blood-pre...

Well doctor, your staff prefers to take my blood pressure while talking to me and putting a thermometer in my mouth which I'm certain violates the protocol and the target numbers were lowered by a significant amount a few years ago to boot and most people would resent pharma companies even in the best of times, so may I just accept my miniscule stroke risk in peace please and maybe focus on the underlying issues? I a…

[deleted]

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#18

Post by irjustin »

SoftTalker wrote: post #8

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions.

Down voting

Once you're diagnosed with high BP you can and should self monitor. That'll show the white coat if it is there.

Also BP meds are insanely cheap because.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#19

Post by matheusmoreira »

SoftTalker wrote: post #8

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions.

Hypertension is NOT overdiagnosed. If anything people aren't taking it seriously enough.

It's true that white coat syndrome must be accounted for just like all the other factors. Best way to do that is to regularly measure and keep track of your blood pressure throughout the day with your own sphygmomanometer. Sometimes 24 hour sampling may be warranted.

Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone

#20

Post by matheusmoreira »

francisofascii wrote: post #10
SoftTalker wrote: post #8

I’m not a doctor but my personal belief is that hypertension is over diagnosed. A lot of people have “white coat” syndrome, and pharma companies love to get people on never-ending prescriptions.

I got a new doctor recently and he agrees. He also told me to take by BP multiple times a day several days a week, for several weeks. To base high blood pressure on one reading at the doctors office every few months is won’t get you the statistical significance you need. And also to record if you drink coffee that day, if you exercised before a reading, slept well the night before, etc. BP can vary greatly from all t…

> To base high blood pressure on one reading at the doctors office every few months is won’t get you the statistical significance you need.

Depends. If it's high enough and there's other risk factors, it's pretty safe to immediately diagnose it as hypertension.

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