Blood Pressure Normal at the Doctor, High at Home After 65

Your blood pressure is measured at the surgery and turns out to be higher than you would have thought. A week later, you measure your blood pressure at home using the monitor, and it turns out to be completely different from what you have before. People usually think that either of the instruments is faulty, but neither is. Blood pressure is not an absolute indicator like your height — it fluctuates during the day, and the two indicators were measured when you found yourself in two entirely different conditions. This video will explain you the meaning of the two numbers and why the upper number usually becomes the center of discussion if you are above sixty-five years old. Moreover, you will find out about the least representative place among places that you visit during the year and learn about the white coat effect when the blood pressure measurement at the clinic is increased compared to the measurement at home. In addition, you will find out the percentage of people who are incorrectly diagnosed because of the effect. The most valuable information is toward the end, but it goes in the reverse direction. Masked hypertension refers to having normal blood pressure in the surgery, but high blood pressure under normal conditions. In a study among people over the age of seventy-five, this condition was discovered in forty-one out of a hundred patients who were previously diagnosed as having a normal clinic reading. One of the reasons behind its being hidden is that most people are unaware of one important fact about masked hypertension: The threshold of high blood pressure in the home setting is different from the clinic, and that is because home readings tend to be lower than clinic readings. Compare your home blood pressure readings with the clinic chart and you will feel fine when you should be worried. In the end, there is the one page to take to your next visit along with your readings that should prompt you to contact your doctor immediately. Sources High Blood Pressure Diagnosis — National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH) — https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/high... Which blood pressure number matters most? — Harvard Health — https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-... Get Accurate Blood Pressure Numbers — Consumer Reports (citing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) — https://www.consumerreports.org/blood... Why the Best Place to Check Blood Pressure May Be at Home — Consumer Reports — https://www.consumerreports.org/healt... Masked Hypertension in the Elderly: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Population-Based Sample — American Journal of Hypertension — https://academic.oup.com/ajh/article/... Millions of American Adults Have "Masked Hypertension" — Columbia University Irving Medical Center — https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/m... Prevalence of Masked Hypertension Among US Adults With Nonelevated Clinic Blood Pressure — PubMed — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28100... Blood Pressure Table by Age (citing Blood Pressure UK on the clinic-to-home gap) — https://hilo.com/en-gb/blogs/art/bloo... This video is for education only and is not medical advice. It is not a substitute for your own doctor, and nothing in it is a reason to start, stop or change any prescription. Do not adjust medication on the basis of home readings. If you have symptoms that concern you, speak to a qualified healthcare professional. #bloodpressure #MaskedHypertension #healthafter60 #hypertension #bloodpressure #WhiteCoatHypertension #healthafter60 #seniorhealth #homemonitoring #bloodpressurecheck #hearthealth #over65