The Cost of Blood Pressure Bloopers - Measured in mm Hg

Accurate and consistent blood pressure (BP) measurement is essential to CVD risk estimation k and to guiding treatment of elevated BP. There are a number of common errors in the process of BP measurement that are easy to commit in a busy primary care practice, eg, not letting patients sit quietly for 5 minutes before measurement, forgetting to take multiple measurements and switch arms.

Target:BP, a quality improvement collaboration between the American Heart Association and American Medical Association, suggests that somebody in the practice take ownership of these details because slacking on proper office-based technique has real consequences.

Find out how many mm Hg your reading may be off if you don't sweat a few important details.