Mens Blood Pressure Question? -

My father is a veteran, 63 and overweight. He has annual checkups at the VA and has been on Lisinopril 40MG for a few years for hypertension. About two or three weeks before his checkup he starts preparing an Excel chart of his daily BP to give to the Doctor at his appointment. He knows that because of quot;White Coat Syndromequot;, his BP when taken at his visit to the clinic is typically abnormally higher (around 180/70) than it would be when taken at home while relaxed. Within the course of an hour or so, he will take three readings using the digital BP LifeSource monitor, so he gets three different readings.... A) 131/55 (pulse-52) B) 123/55 (pulse-51) C) 112/53 (pulse-52) (these are today s readings) The BP testing is done while he is in a relaxed state but typically they will range from high to low like shown above. Which of the three should he use for charting purposes... the higher or the lower reading and how unusual would a range like that be? Thank you

He should 1) chart all three AND (this is very important) 2) he should bring his electronic meeter to the doctor s office, and check his Bp with it, then have the Doc do it. It would be interesting to see if it doesn t need calibration.

First of all, keep track of all the pressure s he takes. In the event you need to call 911, the paramedics will want to know what hisquot;normalquot; pressure is. Second, your BP will almost never be the same each time. Your father should take his BP on one arm, then the other arm the next time. Also, the size of the cuff he uses will change the pressure. If it is too small, his pressure will be high, If too large, his pressure will be low. It might also help to do what s called an orthostatic pressure. You take his BP while laying down, again while sitting, and once more standing. Then document all three to see the difference in each. Just so you know, it is natural, to have that quot;white coat syndrome.quot;