Study Says Have Your Doctor Check Your Blood Pressure — Twice Wed
There is new medical advice on a seemingly mundane part of a visit to the doctor, according to Dr. Roshini Malaney, a Cardiology Fellow at Stony Brook University Hospital who wrote about a new study for the ABC News Medical Unit.
Long story short: Get your blood pressure checked twice in a row.
Patients who had their blood pressure checked a second time at their doctor’s office often have a lower number, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association this week.
The truest blood pressure reading is taken after sitting quietly for at least five minutes, and that rarely happens in a doctor’s office.
The truest blood pressure reading is taken after sitting quietly for at least five minutes, and that rarely happens in a doctor’s office.
In the study, checking the blood pressure again, even just one minute after the initial reading, showed a drop in the systolic -- the key top number -- enough to change a diagnosis from hypertension to healthy.