Do you feel lightheaded or dizzy? Have you recently been diagnosed with hypertension and are you taking medication for it? Get your blood pressure back! Better yet, have a professional nurse take it with a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, take note of your blood pressure. A normal blood pressure should read 120/80. Higher than indicated blood pressure during an illustrated period may cause your physician to diagnose you with an ICD-10 billing code (I10) for HYPERTENSION. My concern is a double question; Did the person who took the blood pressure use an automatic machine and use proper technique? It is not a mystery or an unknown quantity that some technicians will perform their job better than others. this worries me
The technique is used when taking blood pressure. The apparatus used is paramount. The reason I say this is because automated machines will give you a false reading compared to a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer. Using a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, the technician can auscultate or listen for the first ‘beat’, which is the systolic number where the vessel begins to open and the pressure against the vessel walls is measured as the heart beats. The last ‘hit’ is the diagnostic number; the vessel is open and blood pressure is determined here while the heart is resting between beats. This represents a systolic over diastolic reading. This reading can determine a person’s blood pressure. A diagnosis of hypertension or hypotension or normal will be more accurate when heard through a stethoscope. I think this method is more dependent and should be used for diagnosis instead of using an automatic machine.
Automatic blood pressure machines: Automatic machines can be reliable if the baseline (through the use of a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer) of an individual’s blood pressure has already been determined; otherwise, there is ambiguity in the reading. Automatic machines offer a ‘quick, quick and rush’ reading which may be correct but more often than not incorrect. Some automatic machines can give more accurate readings than others; most won’t even read the same thing on the same person using the same arm at the same time. I have not studied machines, but I have been a victim of an automated machine used in my doctor’s office. In short, the use of automatic sphygmomanometers… readings can be false and should never be used for diagnosis, especially those worn on the wrist.
Oh, I know someone is saying, “well, the machines are used in the hospital all the time, so they have to be somewhat reliable.” Right! The machines used in hospitals and other acute care facilities are not of the same caliber as the machines used in doctors’ offices and clinics. Listen, I’m not saying don’t trust machines; I’m saying educate yourself about your own blood pressure and how it’s measured in all capacities.
Technique: The technique of the health professional should be noticed and reprimanded rather than it being an automatic machine or the conventional way. For example, blood pressure should never be taken with bulky sleeves due to clothing. The cuff should start out snug and not tight or loose. The rubber air tube should be placed in the antecubital space and not in the back or anywhere else. For auscultation purposes, the bell of the stethoscope should also be placed just below the air tube. For accurate auscultation while using a stethoscope, the area must be quiet.
My experience: In 2013, my doctor diagnosed me with hypertension. I questioned it. I had my blood pressure taken repeatedly, after which over a period of six months and sure enough, no high reading was ever revealed. So I stop taking the medication. At the time, I was taking a small dose of Lisinopril, which made me almost cough to death anyway. By the way, the cough stopped after about two weeks of stopping the Lisinopril. That was the worst experience of my life! Sorry, but people need to know that too.
I returned to the doctor’s office for a diabetes visit and noticed the office assistant technician taking my blood pressure and reading it somewhat high. Well, the technique was seriously wrong, and I didn’t believe my reading. The doctor asked me if he had taken my blood pressure meds and I replied ‘no, because I don’t have high blood pressure’. Then he started looking to see what I was saying that day and he assured me that I had high blood pressure and asked me to take medicine to lower or normalize it. I said, “Okay,” but I had no intention of taking the medication. I checked my own blood pressure one more time with a nurse (my staff nurse) using a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer. My blood pressure was 122/84 (ishes) without taking anything. medication My baseline is textbook (120/80) I knew this.
So on the next visit I noticed that the technician used the automatic machine and the cuff wrong again and my blood pressure was high again and at the same time of that visit the doctor thought he would send me to a specialist for diabetic teaching and stabilization. On that first visit, the office assistant took my blood pressure with a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, and the reading was fairly normal. The doctor came in and said ‘well I don’t think you have high blood pressure but keep checking it and let us know if it’s above 140. I said yes.
Time passed, a year or so with normal pressures recorded every three months until on one visit it read high even with conventional equipment, but I can’t remember the technique.
I was reading high and the doctor prescribed Losartan 50mg per ounce daily. I had to take my first dose on a short vacation, so I couldn’t control my blood pressure before taking it. I was driving home from Arkansas and realized that I couldn’t feel the pavement while driving; I was lightheaded and dizzy and had to stop at a rest stop to rest until the dizziness and lightheadedness subsided, almost an hour. I was convinced that I did not have high blood pressure, it was not working and I was weak because I had taken an antihypertensive medication unnecessarily and I decided not to take any more Losartan until I saw the doctor again.
On the next visit, my husband joined me for an annual physical at the doctor’s office, where the nursing assistant uses an automated machine. Her blood pressure is always normal. After visiting the same doctor with the same help in the office, she was told her blood pressure needed to be checked because it said HIGH. Why? Because the office assistant, medical assistant, nursing assistant or even a nurse took his blood pressure wrong? I know he did because the same person took mine and it read loud too. I was horrified thinking that this can’t really be happening. I was thinking, “is this what is happening in the world? Maybe just this country because of monetary or pharmaceutical greed?” I was thinking, “do I need to warn the public about this arrogant attitude of taking blood pressure?” I was thinking, “should I sue all the insurance companies that are paying for these ridiculous high blood pressure diagnoses and medications?” The warm part of my heart, which is the biggest part of my heart, prompted me to write about my experience because it may be happening more often than it should and people need to know.
This is not a petty belief. It’s more real than the Sasquatch tracks I’ve never seen but apparently others have. But people who have had similar experiences will reflect on their experiences and hopefully add light to this cause of public awareness.
