Nearly every patient visiting or admitted to a medical facility will have their blood pressure taken as a very quick means of assessing their state of health. Although extraordinarily useful, blood pressure is a highly variable measurement and there is a good chance these critical readings are not being recorded accurately. Inaccurately read and/or recorded blood pressure measurements can have far reaching, almost always negative, ramifications for the patient.
Why?
Because blood pressure readings that are high may be an early indicator of heart disease or an early indicator of increased risk of stroke1. Misreading and/or mis-recording blood pressure can result in treatment being withheld because a problem has not been identified or a patient being prescribed treatment they do not need.
While there is consensus that accuracy in blood pressure readings is critical to patient care, it is deceptively challenging to consistently collect accurate readings. Here is why:
In the modern healthcare landscape, there are all manner of devices designed to improve the accuracy of critical measurements such as blood pressure and by extension, patient outcomes. This post will explore:
Why Accuracy in Blood Pressure Readings is Important
Automated Blood Pressure Devices Improve Accuracy
Features of Automated Blood Pressure Devices
According to the American Heart Association (AHA)
With tolerances so tight, it is clear a small difference in measurement can have a big impact when it comes to diagnosing, or misdiagnosing, hypertension.
For example, in one study, a manual blood pressure reading ended in zero 32.8% of the time, while only 12.4% of automated blood pressure readings ended in zero.3 That is a significant difference.
Changing a measurement from 129/80 to 130/80 may seem harmless because it is only one mmHG, but that one digit could be the difference between normal and elevated blood pressure and change the course of treatment.
Based on AHA blood pressure guidelines every digit in a blood pressure reading matters.
Recording errors associated with manual blood pressure readings have their roots in human nature. Because we are human, we gravitate toward simple numbers, especially when we must remember and write them down later.
While automated blood pressure devices can improve the accuracy of the reading and minimize transcription errors by recording the reading directly into a patient record, nothing can replace the proper implementation of Technique, Time, and Tools to take a blood pressure reading.
Proper implementation of Technique, Time, and Tools, the Three T’s, are the foundation for accurate blood pressure measurement.
Technique: AHA suggests:
Time: Averaging several readings – with rest periods in between – and repeating over 2-3 office visits.4
Tools: Using automated blood pressure devices for in-office measurements per AHA recommendations.4 These devices allow for unattended blood pressure measurement to mitigate white coat hypertension and averaging of blood pressure readings – both AHA recommendations.
These days, automated blood pressure measurement devices are the go-to for healthcare facilities, and for good reason. It follows then that carefully considering features is an important step in the evaluation process.
When evaluating digital blood pressure devices look for features that:
Welch Allyn offers a wide range of point of care vital signs measurement and monitoring devices to healthcare professionals in acute and primary care settings around the world. Their blood pressure measurement and monitoring devices have a proven track record of accuracy, are easy to use, and in many cases are EMR ready.
1. Lewington S, Clarke R, Qizilbash N, et al. Age-specific relevance of usual blood pressure to vascular mortality: a meta-analysis of individual data for one million adults in 61 prospective studies. Lancet. 2002;360:1903–13.
About Baxter: Baxter and its subsidiary, Welch Allyn, offer broad portfolios of medical devices and products to healthcare providers worldwide. The comprehensive array of devices and products in these portfolios address a wide range of medical care needs such as diagnostic, critical care, hospital and surgical products, patient monitoring, and physical exams. Capitalizing on Welch Allyn’s 100 years of innovation, 268,000 customers and 100 configurable products, Baxter is uniquely positioned to help transform global healthcare for years to come.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers. With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.