HOSPITAL & HOMECARE I/E.CO.,LTD.NANJING CHINA

Sometimes doctors will request that patients wear an ambulatory digital blood pressure monitor. This may be suggested if a physician wants to closely follow blood pressure patterns for the day or if they believe that a person only has high blood pressure when they’re in a doctor’s office. The latter may be called white coat hypertension, and diagnosing it can help avoid treating patients who only exhibit high pressure because doctors or medical facilities make them extremely nervous.

An ambulatory blood pressure monitor is attached to a special recording system and takes blood pressure about once every 30 minutes. People usually wear them for 24 hours and may have a sheet of paper on which to record any events occurring just before pressure was taken. The device is called ambulatory because most people can pursue normal activities while wearing it. After the 24-hour period, data from the blood pressure machine can be analyzed to discover if hypertension exists and/or the extent of hypertension. This analysis can then help to determine treatment.

Home blood pressure monitor function much in the same way as do hospital or doctor’s office monitors, but they are usually far less expensive. They may not be quite as accurate, and some doctors will recommend that patients purchase a specific brand of digital blood pressure monitor. or at least ask patients to get a monitor that fits around the arm instead of measuring pressure around a finger or wrist. Arm monitors do seem more accurate than do blood pressure machines of other types.

Even when a person is being treated for high blood pressure, they may need to use a home blood pressure monitor. Recording pressure numbers several times a day can determine if medications or other treatments are adequately addressing hypertension. Some doctors do prefer that patients have their pressure monitored in doctor’s offices instead, but this isn’t always feasible and can be inconvenient.