Incorrect readings with improper BP cuff

August 1, 2012 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: There are many people incorrectly diagnosed with isolated systolic hypertension because the blood pressure cuffs in use are not designed to compensate for the presence of excessive fat or muscle tissue in large people. When discussing this point with a physician, I suggest this experiment: Have the person take his own BP, then wrap a 1/2” thick steak around the arm and take it again. The one physician (a woman) who actually did this was amazed to see her BP go from 115/75 to 165/62.

The medical community needs to develop better ways to measure BP. Heavily muscled and fat people (yes, I’m one) are being misdiagnosed with hypertension every day.

DEAR READER: In all honesty, I find your experiment rather gross, if only because it involves slathering raw beef over one’s arm and medical equipment. However, I can understand your point, as the steak represents excess fat/muscle tissue.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Daily Column, Monthly Awareness Tagged With: ,

Analyzing blood-pressure numbers

July 2, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My hypertension has been treated for many years with lisinopril 20 miligrams daily and amlodipine 5 milligrams daily. These medications seem to have little effect on my numbers. My systolic readings are in the range of 140 to 165, while my diastolic readings are in the 50s.

I recently came across an article on the topic of isolated systolic hypertension, in which a physician pointed out that this form of hypertension can lead to serious problems — stroke, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and dementia. The doctors and nurses who have taken my blood pressure have universally said that the diastolic reading was not a consideration; however, this report indicated that medications to control systolic hypertension should not be allowed to cause the diastolic pressure to go below 70 mmHg.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Daily Column, Leading Letter Tagged With: , , , , ,