Automated BP Readings More Accurate Than Manual Measurements

By the Editors

Automated office blood pressure readings are more accurate than typical office readings among patients with hypertension, according to a JAMA Internal Medicine meta-analysis.

Researchers examined 31 studies of 9300 people that compared fully automated office BP readings, in which a clinician was not present and the patient was resting quietly, to other methods of BP measurement. Among patients with automated systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher, systolic BP readings taken at routine office visits were significantly higher than automated readings (mean difference, 14.5 mm Hg). Meanwhile, automated BP readings and awake ambulatory BP readings were statistically similar.

Dr. Thomas Schwenk will take a closer look at these findings in the coming days in NEJM Journal Watch General Medicine.