#High BP: Single reading not accurate, get at least three measurements for accurate diagnosis

New Delhi: Checking your blood pressure – A single measurement has been wrongly classified and requires at least a minimum of three readings suggests researchers.

Nearly 63% of individuals suffering from ‘Hypertension’ are likely to get wrong readings in a single isolated measurement and it requires at least three readings to get the accurate diagnosis, reports Hindu.

The new findings were found by a researchers at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and the Economics and Planning Unit, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), published recently in the Journal of Human Hypertension.

Measuring blood pressure is one of the most common clinical practice tools used to determine heart condition as well as predict future heart health-related events and according to the study repeated measurements of BP are compulsory to avoid inaccurate reading and diagnose of patient’s heart condition.

Dorairaj Prabhakaran, vice president, Research and Policy, PHFI and one of the main authors of the study said: “There is a need to ensure accuracy in the diagnosis and management of hypertension. It is vital that clinical guidelines recommend uniform evidence-based methods of arriving at the final clinic BP.”