Are you lightheaded or dizzy? Have you recently been diagnosed with hypertension and are you taking medication for it? Take your blood pressure again! Better yet, have a professional nurse take it with a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, take note of your blood pressure. A normal blood pressure should be 120/80. A blood pressure that reads higher than that of a depicted period may lead your doctor to diagnose you with an ICD-10 (I10) billing code of HYPERTENSION. My concern is a double question; Did the person taking the blood pressure use an automatic machine and use the proper technique? It is not a mystery or unknown that some technicians will perform their job better than others. This worries me.

The technique is used when taking blood pressure. The apparatus used is essential. The reason I say this is because automatic machines will give you a false reading compared to a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer. Using a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer, the technician can auscultate or hear the first “beat,” which is the systolic number at which the vessel begins to open and the pressure against the walls of the vessel is measured when the heart beats. The last ‘hit’ is the diagnostic number; the vessel is open and blood pressure is determined here while the heart rests between beats. This generates a systolic over diastolic reading. This reading can determine a person’s blood pressure. A diagnosis of hypertension or hypotension or normal will be more accurate when heard through a stethoscope. I think this method is more reliable and should be used for diagnosis rather than using an automated machine.

Automatic blood pressure machines: Automatic machines can be reliable if the baseline (using a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer) of an individual’s pressure has already been determined; otherwise, there is ambiguity in the reading. Automated machines offer a ‘quick, quick and hasty’ reading that may be correct but often incorrect. Some automatic machines can produce more accurate readings than others; most won’t even read the same thing to the same person using the same arm at the same time. I have not studied the machines, but I have been the victim of an automatic machine that is used in my doctor’s office. To sum up the use of automatic blood pressure machines … readings can be false and should never be used for diagnosis, especially those worn on the wrist.

Oh, I know someone is saying, “well, the machines are used in the hospital all the time, so they have to be somewhat reliable.” Right! The machines used in hospitals and other intensive care facilities are not the same caliber as those used in doctor’s offices and clinics. Listen, I’m not saying don’t trust machines; I am saying educate yourself on your own blood pressure and how it was measured in all capacities.

Technique: The healthcare professional’s technique should be noted and reprimanded rather than being an automatic machine or the conventional way. For example, blood pressure should never be taken with puffy sleeves due to clothing. The cuff should start snug and not tight or loose. The rubber air tube should be placed in the antecubital space and not on the back or elsewhere. For auscultation, the bell of the stethoscope should also be placed just below the air tubing. For accurate auscultation while using a stethoscope, the area should be quiet.

My experience: In 2013, my doctor diagnosed me with hypertension. I questioned it. I had my blood pressure taken repeatedly, after which over a period of six months, and sure enough, a high reading was never revealed. So, I stop taking the medication. At the time, I was taking a small dose of lisinopril, which made me cough almost to death anyway. By the way, the cough stopped after two weeks of discontinuing Lisinopril. That was the worst experience of my life! Sorry, but people need to know too.

I returned to the doctor’s office for a diabetes visit and noticed the office assistant’s technique taking my pressure and reading something out loud. Well, the technique was very bad and I did not believe in reading. The doctor asked me if I had taken my PA medications and I replied, ‘no, because I don’t have high blood pressure.’ Then he started looking to see what he was saying that day and assured me that I had high blood pressure and asked me to take the medications to lower or normalize it. I said, “Okay,” but I had no intention of taking the medicine. I rechecked my own BP with a nurse (my nursing staff) who used a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer. My blood pressure read 122/84 (ishes) without taking any medication. My baseline is the textbook (120/80). I knew it.

So, on the next visit I noticed that the technician used the automatic machine and the cuff incorrectly again and my pressure read high again and at the same time of that visit the doctor thought that he would send me to a specialist for teaching and stabilization of the diabetes. On that first visit, the office assistant took my blood pressure with a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer and gave a fairly normal reading. The doctor came in and said ‘well I don’t think I have high blood pressure but keep monitoring it and let us know if it’s over 140. I said yes.

Time passed, a year or so with normal pressures recorded every three months until one visit gave a high reading even with conventional equipment, but I don’t remember the technique.

He read out loud and the doctor prescribed Losartan 50mg once a day. I had to take my first dose on a short vacation, so I couldn’t control my pressure before taking it. I was driving home from Arkansas and realized that I couldn’t feel the pavement while driving; I was groggy and dizzy and had to stop at a rest stop to rest until the dizziness and lightheadedness subsided, almost an hour. I was convinced that I did not have high blood pressure, it was not working and I was weak because I had taken an antihypertensive medication unnecessarily and I decided not to take more Losartan until I saw the doctor again.

On the next visit, my husband accompanied me for an annual physical at the doctor’s office, where the nursing assistant uses an automated machine. His blood pressure is always normal. After visiting the same doctor with the same help in the office, he was told that his blood pressure needed to be checked because it said HIGH. Why? Why did your office assistant, medical assistant, nursing assistant, or even a nurse take your blood pressure wrong? I know he did it because the same person took mine and read aloud too. I was horrified thinking that this can’t really be happening. I was thinking, “Is this what is happening in the world? Maybe just this country because of monetary or pharmaceutical greed?” I was thinking, “do I need to warn the public about this arrogant attitude of taking blood pressure?” I was thinking, “Am I blowing the whistle at all the insurance companies that are paying for these crazy hypertension diagnoses and medications?” The warm part of my heart that most of my heart led me to write about my experience because it may be happening more often than it should and people need to know about it.

This is not an insignificant belief. It’s more real than the Sasquatch tracks I’ve never seen, but apparently others have. But people who have had similar experiences will reflect on their experiences and hopefully add light to this cause of public awareness.