News & Research
Ballpark Blood Pressure Readings Blur Patients' Medical Histories
What is the problem and what is known about it so far?
People with diabetes are more likely to have high blood pressure, which leads to serious health problems like heart attack and stroke. Strict control of blood pressure can prevent many health problems, but high blood pressure is very hard to diagnose because it changes constantly. Doctors need several exact readings from different visits to diagnose high blood pressure and prescribe medication.
Why did researchers do this particular study?
Although blood pressure control is very important, the researchers questioned the quality of blood pressure readings of people with diabetes. Low-quality readings could keep a doctor from diagnosing patients with high blood pressure and leave them at risk.
Who was studied?
Adults with type 2 diabetes.
How was the study done?
To check if readings were accurate, the researchers looked for ?end-digit preference? in the blood pressure readings of 404 patients with type 2 diabetes. This means the researchers counted the number of blood pressure readings that ended with zero. If the majority ended in zero (120, 130, 140, etc.), it showed that most doctors and nurses rounded readings instead of recording the exact blood pressure. Researchers then checked if doctors and nurses rounded more often for women, African Americans, and obese people.
What did the researchers find?
According to this study, both physicians and non-physicians normally rounded blood pressure readings. Women, African Americans, non-obese patients, and older patients without a history of high blood pressure received the lowest-quality blood pressure readings.
What are the limitations of the study?
The researchers only examined diabetic patients, and their data could not show a direct link between poor blood pressure readings and their effect on prescriptions.
What are the implications of the study?
Because doctors need exact readings over a long period of time, rounding blood pressure readings may prevent doctors from noting changes in the blood pressure of people with type 2 diabetes. To reduce the number of health problems like heart attack and stroke, especially among those who are at higher risk for heart problems (women, African Americans, people who have obesity), physicians need to take good, exact readings and to seek out new equipment to read blood pressure accurately. Patients should encourage physicians to record exact readings and should ask their physicians to discuss with them in detail how their blood pressure history may affect their overall health.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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