Blood pressure at doctor vs BP at home

mrmtg1990 · Dec 10, 2016

Maybe your arm is not as big as you think it it is!

maldorf · Dec 10, 2016

mike036 said:
They have the cuff with the gauge and pump it up by hand and read the gauge .

They use a stethoscope to listen for the heart beat and that is how you read the pressure with the gauge. I used to do mine that way but now that my BP is so low I can barely hear mine. I use an automatic now. My stethoscope is too cheap. Looks like a nice one runs about $150 and will allow you to hear good. I got mine at a local supply store and it was only about $20 or less. It is easy to do it on your own once you learn how. I learned how to in a college course I took "Cardiopulmonary Physiology".

Doing it manually is the most accurate method. If they do it that way at the office and whomever does it knows what they are doing then that is what you should go by.

Here is a cheapie that looks to be about like what I have:

https://www.amazon.com/Dixie-Blood-...d=1481340961&sr=1-7&keywords=stethoscope&th=1

This stethoscope actually looks like it would work well and isn't too expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F4W1R6?ref=emc_b_5_i

nothuman · Dec 10, 2016

Blood Pressure Cuff Size

Worth sharing

maldorf · Dec 10, 2016

Old fashioned Mercury

Mercury sphygmomanometers are still the gold standard even today. My cardiologist office still uses them and I am glad about that. Many do not anymore. If they are using aneroid gauges then those should be calibrated on a regular basis.

http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/37/2/185

maldorf · Dec 10, 2016

Old fashioned Mercury

Mercury sphygmomanometers are still the gold standard even today. My cardiologist office still uses them and I am glad about that. Many do not anymore. If they are using aneroid gauges then those should be calibrated on a regular basis.

Mercury Sphygmomanometers Should Not be Abandoned: An Advisory Statement From the Council for High Blood Pressure Research, American Heart Association | Hypertension

DOGGCRAPP · Dec 10, 2016

can we put this to rest please

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19593118

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12900586

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6732409

nothuman · Dec 10, 2016

DOGGCRAPP said:
can we put this to rest please

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19593118

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12900586

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6732409

Good links! I imagine this has happened to you too whenever you've visited a physician's office

bieberhole69 · Dec 10, 2016

DOGGCRAPP said:
can we put this to rest please

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19593118

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12900586

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6732409

Just so everyone is clear...the arm measurements used in these studies as the threshold was 13". I am pretty sure they're measuring unflexed...but ALL of us should be above that threshold for sure.

My readings are regularly 145-160/82 on the normal cuff. When I ask them to do it again with the obese cuff it's never been more than 125/75.

cliffs

-you need to ask the doc to use the obese cuff

nothuman · Dec 10, 2016

bieberhole69 said:
Just so everyone is clear...the arm measurements used in these studies as the threshold was 13". I am pretty sure they're measuring unflexed...but ALL of us should be above that threshold for sure.

My readings are regularly 145-160/82 on the normal cuff. When I ask them to do it again with the obese cuff it's never been more than 125/75.

cliffs

-you need to ask the doc to use the obese cuff

yea 125/75 is an average rating for the obese cuff at a doc office for me too. The question is whether the obese cuff is even enough. The one I looked at said 13 inches. I don't know if that means 13 or more though.

maldorf · Dec 10, 2016

bieberhole69 said:
Just so everyone is clear...the arm measurements used in these studies as the threshold was 13". I am pretty sure they're measuring unflexed...but ALL of us should be above that threshold for sure.

My readings are regularly 145-160/82 on the normal cuff. When I ask them to do it again with the obese cuff it's never been more than 125/75.

cliffs

-you need to ask the doc to use the obese cuff

Yes, that would be with your arm extended straight out, elbow joint fully extended with muscle relaxed. Most of us never measure our arms like that, it is a lot smaller.

All of the offices use a large on me and if the person doing it has any knowledge they should go right to the large when they see you. Never been an issue for me except for when I was young in high school and they assumed the normal cuff was big enough.

A small cuff has to be pumped up to a higher pressure to cut off the blood supply because it isn't as efficient, that is the reason the pressure reads too high.

nothuman · Dec 10, 2016

maldorf said:
Yes, that would be with your arm extended straight out, elbow joint fully extended with muscle relaxed. Most of us never measure our arms like that, it is a lot smaller.

All of the offices use a large on me and if the person doing it has any knowledge they should go right to the large when they see you. Never been an issue for me except for when I was young in high school and they assumed the normal cuff was big enough.

A small cuff has to be pumped up to a higher pressure to cut off the blood supply because it isn't as efficient, that is the reason the pressure reads too high.

So you're saying when measuring our arm to fit the proper size cuff, we need to measure our arm extended straight out?

maldorf · Dec 10, 2016

nothuman said:
So you're saying when measuring our arm to fit the proper size cuff, we need to measure our arm extended straight out?

Pretty sure about that, since that is how you put it on. Its not like you are flexing your arm when you measure the BP. Your arm is lying straight out. The cuff I got with my automatic is fine for my arm but its not as big as it used to be. My arms were about 19 1/2 to 20 inches at one time, not sure what they are now since I don't worry about it anymore.

A lot of the cuff have a line marked on them that shows where the other end of the cuff can touch and that is the max size for the cuff. If the cuff wraps around your arm and cant touch that mark then its too small.

nothuman · Dec 10, 2016

maldorf said:
Pretty sure about that, since that is how you put it on. Its not like you are flexing your arm when you measure the BP. Your arm is lying straight out. The cuff I got with my automatic is fine for my arm but its not as big as it used to be. My arms were about 19 1/2 to 20 inches at one time, not sure what they are now since I don't worry about it anymore.

A lot of the cuff have a line marked on them that shows where the other end of the cuff can touch and that is the max size for the cuff. If the cuff wraps around your arm and cant touch that mark then its too small.

Well that explains a lot. Maybe I need the large cuff instead of extra large then

maldorf · Dec 10, 2016

This web page has recommendations for size to use for size of arm, in cm.

Blood Pressure Cuff Selection and Sizing

Just looked, and if you hit the page back buttons at the bottom it shows you how to take your BP manually with a stethoscope which is the best method if you have a good scope that allows you to hear. This is a nice page.

bieberhole69 · Dec 11, 2016

nothuman said:
So you're saying when measuring our arm to fit the proper size cuff, we need to measure our arm extended straight out?

Yep...if you ever see measurements taken in a medical setting, I assure you they're unflexed

There's typically a 2-3" gain flexing for most people. But still better to just measure unflexed, arm extended to make sure.

nothuman · Dec 11, 2016

bieberhole69 said:
Yep...if you ever see measurements taken in a medical setting, I assure you they're unflexed

There's typically a 2-3" gain flexing for most people. But still better to just measure unflexed, arm extended to make sure.

Sadly this leads me to believe the bp readings at the doctor are the more accurate ones then for me personally.

bieberhole69 · Dec 11, 2016

nothuman said:
Sadly this leads me to believe the bp readings at the doctor are the more accurate ones then for me personally.

The standard cuff is 13" max unflexed. You sure?

nothuman · Dec 11, 2016

bieberhole69 said:
The standard cuff is 13" max unflexed. You sure?

Right now my arm is 14.5 inches when extended out unflexed and 17 when flexing and measuring the bodybuilder way. So given how 14.5 is the number I have to use for blood pressure, would that give me a normal reading using a large doctor cuff?

bieberhole69 · Dec 11, 2016

nothuman said:
Right now my arm is 14.5 inches when extended out unflexed and 17 when flexing and measuring the bodybuilder way. So given how 14.5 is the number I have to use for blood pressure, would that give me a normal reading using a large doctor cuff?

In short, it should.

If only your systolic is elevated (diastolic fine, and you don't have the symptoms of higher SBP i.e. tomato face, head / ocular pressure, feeling hot...basically the shit you get after a heavy cheat meal (or at least I do)), you might want to google the term spurious systolic hypertension. It's relevant to athletes / heavily muscled individuals.

ATLien · Dec 11, 2016

I fucking HATE getting bp checked at Dr. Ive told them not to take it sometimes lol. I worry about that shit a week before my appt. at home, it's 125/75ish