← Return to Blood pressure measurement - automated vs manual method

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@gravity3

All my experience has been with nurses, in a doctors office setting, who obtain a manual BP measurement versus those who obtain a BP with an automatic BP machine, again in a doctor’s office setting.

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Replies to "@gravity3 All my experience has been with nurses, in a doctors office setting, who obtain a..."

@handera Unfortunately, in most office settings, your blood pressure is probably not being taken by a nurse - usually these are medical assistants with a minimal amount of training. They may not have been trained to take a manual blood pressure - this is very common now.

Recently, my daughter had to retrain a nurse in her school health office how to use a manual cuff - the hospital where he had worked for years used automatic cuffs exclusively. She has instituted a policy of manual cuffs only because, in her words, "automatic cuffs are only as accurate as the last time they were dropped" - which was frequent when working with kids in medical crises.

In my cardiologist's office, I am invited to bring my home unit to my annual visit so they can compare the reading with a manual one taken by the nurse or physician's assistant.

This is all just a reminder that we must always be our own best advocate!