I'll get excited when someone comes up with a user friendly continuous blood pressure monitor.
Until then...
Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
21–30 of 90 posts
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#22I’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’m not a doctor but I do read articles and studies about how doctors can be wrong about hypertension.
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/some-health-care-professiona...
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
except blood pressure is ALWAYS measured incorrectly at a doctors office. So what’s the point? Have you ever had a health professional follow these steps?
“Don't drink a caffeinated beverage or smoke during the 30 minutes before the test.
Sit quietly for five minutes before the test begins.
During the measurement, sit in a chair with your feet on the floor and your arm supported so your elbow is at about heart level.
The inflatable part of the cuff should completely cover at least 80% of your upper arm, and the cuff should be placed on bare skin, not over a shirt.
Don't talk during the measurement.”
source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/tips-to-measure-...
Very elevated readings at the doctors office are probably a sign you should get your own BP Machine and do readings at home, to see if it’s actually an issue when measured correctly.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#24Earlier 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…
Actively talking during blood pressure measurements can cause false positives. Listening and sampling of temperature in parallel shouldn't. Target systolic blood pressure in hypertensive adults is still 120-130 mmHg. The stroke risk is certainly not "minuscule", people die a lot less when they take the medicine. Underlying issues are likely to be exacerbated by hypertension since it causes continuous damage to major organs. Chlorthalidone is not the only anti-hypertensive medication available, there are other effective drugs with no diuretic effect, I suggest you talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of each class of drug so you can make an informed decision. They are certainly not risk free. Costs of testing and medicines are a matter of private and public policy, your doctor has zero influence on that, it's not their fault.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
previous comment meant to out the fingeron the wrist and count the pulse by yourself, analog way.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Pulse oximeters will also give low spO2 if your fingertip is cold. In that case, just put your hand/fingers under your armpit for a few seconds to warm them up.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#27Earlier 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...
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…
My MIL get white coat syndrome and every time she is at the hospital here numbers are much higher than at home. Her GP would not agree with this and continued to treat her with blood pressure pills aggressively. She would get dizzy and low pressure at home. Eventually switched to another doctor who trusted her and adjusted the prescription accordingly and those problems stopped and she managed to a reasonable BP range.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
except blood pressure is ALWAYS measured incorrectly at a doctors office. So what’s the point? Have you ever had a health professional follow these steps? “Don't drink a caffeinated beverage or smoke during the 30 minutes before the test. Sit quietly for five minutes before the test begins. During the measurement, sit in a chair with your feet on the floor and your arm supported so your elbow is at about heart level.…
> Have you ever had a health professional follow these steps?
100% of the time I’ve had initially (mildly) high reading as an adult, I've had a second reading in the office assuring that those are followed (usually, only the “sit quietly for five minutes preceding” is skipped initially), and that's been over a period of 30+ years.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
except blood pressure is ALWAYS measured incorrectly at a doctors office. So what’s the point? Have you ever had a health professional follow these steps? “Don't drink a caffeinated beverage or smoke during the 30 minutes before the test. Sit quietly for five minutes before the test begins. During the measurement, sit in a chair with your feet on the floor and your arm supported so your elbow is at about heart level.…
From your own link:
> The exception to this rule is if you have a blood pressure reading of 180/110 mm Hg or higher.
> A result this high usually calls for prompt treatment.
That's what I meant by "high enough".
A single 150 x 90 mmHg reading may be uncertain ground but you don't ignore 220 x 130 mmHg.
Re: Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
#30I’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.
The recommendation for bp reading is: Sit in a comfortable chair with your back supported for at least 5 minutes before your reading - https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/measure.htm
However, this doesn't happen. In US, you check in, sit in the waiting area, then a nurse takes you in, checks weight on the way to the room, then takes bp as soon as you sit. All done in 90 seconds to 2 mins. I thought I had high BP, but was confused by the range of 20+/-, luckily my primary doctor explained the procedure and took my measurement. Now I don't get concerned, I know they are doing it wrong.