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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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BP Machines

i am a 26 year old male, who suffers from panic disorder.... ive been taking my blood pressure at home using a home blood rpessure machine and my blood pressure is usually in the normal range.... However, last night i was at wal mart and took my blood pressure and it was 153/88... When i got home i took it and it was 128/75...... can white coat apprehension happen at places like wal mart??? and are home machines accurate? my pulse was 117 at wal mart.... at home it was 88
Tue, 15 Dec 2009
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In Walmart your effective pressure ("mean") was nearly 110. At home, it was nearly 93. Those are the figures you need to look at. Although you don't say what your pulse rate was (and for accuracy you really do need those) they tell you how much work your heart was doing at the two times, and clearly, you were doing much more at Walmart, and your B/P readings reflect that very well. - It wasn't "white coat" effect. It was true physical stress. The machines are in fact very accurate, IF YOU USE THE SAME ONES all the time, and provided you measure at the same spot every time. But remember, the actual numbers you read don't signify a plug nickel. They are neither real, nor true, nor comparable with anybody else's. But CHANGES are real, true and accurate. That is, -if, ON YOU OWN MACHINE, you get a change, then that INDICATES a real, true, actual change in the pressure generated within the left ventricle of our heart. EDIT: thank you. Your pulse rate figures show that you were doing 1.63 times the work in your Walmart travels than you were doing at home, so the numbers you quote fit in perfectly with this. There's nothing abnormal nor unusual now. -Ignore the numpties who say there is. You're fine. Tich

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BP Machines

In Walmart your effective pressure ( mean ) was nearly 110. At home, it was nearly 93. Those are the figures you need to look at. Although you don t say what your pulse rate was (and for accuracy you really do need those) they tell you how much work your heart was doing at the two times, and clearly, you were doing much more at Walmart, and your B/P readings reflect that very well. - It wasn t white coat effect. It was true physical stress. The machines are in fact very accurate, IF YOU USE THE SAME ONES all the time, and provided you measure at the same spot every time. But remember, the actual numbers you read don t signify a plug nickel. They are neither real, nor true, nor comparable with anybody else s. But CHANGES are real, true and accurate. That is, -if, ON YOU OWN MACHINE, you get a change, then that INDICATES a real, true, actual change in the pressure generated within the left ventricle of our heart. EDIT: thank you. Your pulse rate figures show that you were doing 1.63 times the work in your Walmart travels than you were doing at home, so the numbers you quote fit in perfectly with this. There s nothing abnormal nor unusual now. -Ignore the numpties who say there is. You re fine. Tich