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Blood Pressure
At-Home Blood Pressure Readings Effective
The American Heart Association recently updated its 1993 guidelines on blood pressure measurement,
putting more emphasis on home monitoring. The organization released findings that
at-home blood pressure measurements are often more effective than
readings conducted in a physician’s office. Ambulatory, at-home blood pressure monitoring measures
blood pressure at regular intervals throughout the day and night.
This allows patients to keep a journal of blood pressure fluctuations and to record blood pressure
readings at night, when blood pressure typically drops slightly. Research has shown that elevated
blood pressure readings at night are associated with elevated cardiovascular risk.
High blood pressure is defined as consistent systolic pressure of 140 mm/Hg or higher or diastolic
pressure of 90 mm/Hg or higher. According to the American Heart Association, at least 65 million
Americans - or almost one third of adults - have high blood pressure. Millions more are considered
to have pre-hypertension, or blood pressure between 120-139 mm/Hg systolic and 80-90 mm/Hg.
These findings were released by the American Heart Association as part of the group's effort to
update its 1993 Recommendations for Blood Pressure Measurement in Humans. The updated recommendations
were published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
http://hyper.ahajournals.org/
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