Blood Pressure in your Medical Practice

Thanks to the increasing concern regarding cardiovascular disease, blood pressure (BP) is one of the more well-known vital signs. Just about everyone has had their BP measured in a clinic. In the last few years, many track their own BP with the widespread availability and affordability of home monitors. Although experts in cardiology regard ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) as the gold standard, it is not as frequently used in regular medical practice as in-office or home BP.
Each method has its benefits and disadvantages.

• In-office: traditional and measured by a trained clinician, but usually a small sample of data measured infrequently
• Home: easy-to-do and relatively affordable for the amount of data that a patient can collect over a period of time, but accuracy issues and user problems can be a factor.
• ABPM: proven as a reliable test for "White coat" and other varieties of hypertension that are difficult or impossible for a clinician to observe with in-office or home BP measurement, but expensive relative to alternatives although reimbursement is offered in the US.

Given these issues, the methods that clinicians use in their practices today are a true measure of their value. As countries wrestle with general healthcare issues of cost-of-delivery, affordability, and accessibility, the choices that clinicians make on how they practice medicine are important to their effectiveness and to their patients.

With all that said, we at SunTech are interested to hear your thoughts on the use of BP in your practice. We would appreciate it if you could take a short, one to two-minute survey. As always, thanks for reading and if you choose, for participating!