I’ve found that those *&#^@ machines ALWAYS read too high and I’ve had plenty of nurses tell me so.
When I get a manual, done by a real human being, blood pressure, it’s almost always close to my usual.
When they use that blankety-blank machine, it adjusts the pressure and about squeezes my arm off and takes FOREVER to deflate.
And they wonder why it reads high.
And then of course, they show concern and start talking blood pressure meds.
What I finally did with my PCP was told her to look at the readings from my allergy shots and when she did, she dropped the subject.
My wife has high blood pressure. Her is always lower at the DR when done manually as opposed to the auto.
For home I bought an Oxiline ($100) that is tested to be 99% accurate and comes with a lifetime warranty. It’s proven to live up to that for us.
As regards the people in the article that might get a reading of 135 when it might read 142 when done manually - too bad, you’re gonna die. And soon.
Seriously, docs are pushing meds on anyone that is above 130 anyway. They are not “missing” people who *need* treatment because of 5-7 points. That’s just hooey.
I have a machine at home and check my blood pressure every morning for both arms. The readings are sometimes quite a bit different even though it’s just a couple of minutes between one reading and the other. I usually get better readings from the Red Cross when I give blood.
I can’t stand the pain that those machines cause, so when they insist on using those, I make them apply the cuff below my elbow. The reading is the same without the pain.