Measuring Blood Pressure

[531colin]

The plumbing for the right arm comes off the main supply (aorta) before the left.

So that makes the BP measurement more valid ............. or less valid?

I guess less valid, because the instructions always state the left arm.

"always" state, as in they read the same each time you read them?.....

It doesn't matter at all.....117/78 is "normal" and 107/76 is "normal" as well.
Its counter-productive to think of these things in terms of engineering specs......the right mindset is something like "what are the evolutionary advantages (disadvantages) in having similar (different) pressures in the different parts of the arterial system?"

[LollyKat]

Oh and there is no such thing as slightly autistic, it's a bit like saying a female can be slightly pregnant.

Well, we talk about a female being very pregnant.... I can assure you from personal experience that there is a great difference between 2 months and 9 months!

[Tangled Metal]

Is the Aldi BP monitor good? Is it an upper arm one or wrist one? I was considering it because I got a slightly high reading at the machine in my son's GP waiting room. i repeated it and the same reading came out so I used a cheapo finger one my partner had and that was high and inconsistent. The upper arm ones are better but not all upper arm monitors are equal, some are more reliable and to be trusted than others. However I expect trends over time can still be spotted.

I wonder if the OP meant he was at the less noticeable end of the autistic spectrum by his phrase "a little autistic". If that was his meaning then I can understand that. It is a spectrum disorder afterall. As far as the test for Autistic traits goes that is not a diagnosis in any form. I think a lot of people could get a score that indicates autistic traits without actually being autistic. I have not done that test but I have done something similar for ADHD and got indicated that I had traits. I personally think these traits tests are only indicators and people who have tried to understand themselves generally know what these tests can show them. Plus close family/friends will know too, if they are aware of the symptoms at least. If you have come out as having a lot of autistic traits then you will need to decide whether they are affecting your life and whether you want to proceed to a diagnosis. This test is only going to reinforce your own perceptions of having autism IMHO, diagnosis is the only sure way to know.

PS if you do go for diagnosis then reckon on a long time to get it. I know from people with ADHD and ASD that diagnosis for ASD is as long winded and difficult as getting one for adult diagnosed ADHD. That last one I gave up on at the first hurdle.

[Mick F]

Is the Aldi BP monitor good? Is it an upper arm one or wrist one? I was considering it because I got a slightly high reading at the machine in my son's GP waiting room. i repeated it and the same reading came out so I used a cheapo finger one my partner had and that was high and inconsistent. The upper arm ones are better but not all upper arm monitors are equal, some are more reliable and to be trusted than others. However I expect trends over time can still be spotted.

Mine came from Lidl, maker's name is "Sanitas". It takes four AA batteries and has a speech output as well as a visual/numerical and a visual scale LED indication. You can turn the annoying speech off. The strap is designed for the upper arm. Mrs Mick F has suggested I try it round my neck.

The (arm) results are "inconsistent" but it depends on what the errors mean. The readings are never far away from each other, but as I said, the right arm is always better than the left arm. Also, the arm strap doesn't 'arf get tight! TBH, it hurts my left arm, but not so much on my right. I'm very right handed and my left arm isn't very strong, so maybe that's the reason.

I wonder if the OP meant he was at the less noticeable end of the autistic spectrum by his phrase "a little autistic". If that was his meaning then I can understand that. It is a spectrum disorder afterall.

Yep.
That's me.

As far as the test for Autistic traits goes that is not a diagnosis in any form. I think a lot of people could get a score that indicates autistic traits without actually being autistic. I have not done that test but I have done something similar for ADHD and got indicated that I had traits. I personally think these traits tests are only indicators and people who have tried to understand themselves generally know what these tests can show them. Plus close family/friends will know too, if they are aware of the symptoms at least. If you have come out as having a lot of autistic traits then you will need to decide whether they are affecting your life and whether you want to proceed to a diagnosis. This test is only going to reinforce your own perceptions of having autism IMHO, diagnosis is the only sure way to know.

It doesn't affect me much so there's no point in getting an official diagnosis - though I would actually like one.

Knowing I'm on the spectrum has explained a great deal about me as a person. I now know that I have learning difficulties, not much, but I do have them. Long long long story, but I have issues with this. Not that any of it affects me operating these days as I'm retired, but I do still have issues.

As a matter of interest, I've done that questionnaire a few times. Each time gives me in the range of 45 to 48 score out of 50.
Mrs Mick F has done it, and got a score of 4.

[AlanJ]

I wonder if the OP meant he was at the less noticeable end of the autistic spectrum by his phrase "a little autistic". If that was his meaning then I can understand that. It is a spectrum disorder afterall.

Yep.
That's me.

Fair enough, I took it probably too literally (one of my more frustrating autistic problems). I apologise for arguing.

Back track keeping an eye on blood pressure can help as an early indicator for hidden problems.

[Mick F]

................. hidden problems.

Yes, my massive Familial Cholesterol problem!
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=97373

Day 16 without statins and I feel great.
32miles this morning. I continue exercise my heart and lungs and to flush my arteries as often as possible.

[Ray]

In the manual for my Kinetik monitor it says:

"The British Hypertension Society recommends that, for your first test, you test both your arms. This will determine which arm should be used for future measurements. Take note of your systolic (high number) reading on both arms. The arm which gives the higher systolic reading should be used in the future for testing."

ie don't choose the reading which you 'prefer'

[Mick F]

Thank you Ray.
Good info.

I'll test each arm a few times this evening and note the readings.
This is me being a bit OCD over it!

No doubt I'll flatten the batteries getting this sorted.

[Mick F]

Six goes with left and six goes with right.
I did the left arm then immediately did the right arm, then left it a while for my arms to recover, then did the left and right again etc so you need to read these in order back and forth.

Here are the results from the Cornish jury.
(Spoken like Katie Boyle on Eurovision)

LEFT
136 over 101
127 over 97
120 over 90
123 over 97
130 over 93
131 over 97
Averages out as 127.7 over 95.8


RIGHT
122 over 88
123 over 83
119 over 86
120 over 86
117 over 90
103 over 73
Averages out as 117.3 over 84.3

Sounds like I have an issue with my left arm.

[thirdcrank]

Have you checked the accuracy of your testing kit against apparatus which has been calibrated?

When I started with heart disease, in a total tizzy, I went through a period of doubting everything and bought my own machine. I got my specialist cardiac nurse to check with her calibrated machine and I used my own immediately afterwards. Mine gave a significantly lower result. In other words, just because you have some official-looking numbers in an LCD display, it does not mean they are inevitably right.

[axel_knutt]

Which tested them last January, they varied from good to hopeless, with little correlation to price.

[Tangled Metal]

I found a site, some hypertension society or heart health one IIRC, that listed monitors that give reliable results. Not all are very expensive, some were £30-£75. It could have been a US site.
There was some doubt as to the usefulness of self monitoring of bp. Some take the view that the doctor will want to carry out their tests anyway as they won't know if your tests are accurate and valid.

[AlanJ]

There was some doubt as to the usefulness of self monitoring of bp. Some take the view that the doctor will want to carry out their tests anyway as they won't know if your tests are accurate and valid.

While true some doctors will also want you to monitor your BP as well, yes they'll suggest a device and show you how, etc.

The omniron ones are pretty good, well my GP uses one so she must think it good enough.

[Tangled Metal]

omicron ones are actually quite cheap I think at argos and other places. They also do other monitoring stuff too like body analyzer scales, pedometers and blood sugar monitors too IIRC.

I have been thinking of getting the BP monitor sometime. I know at early 40s I probably would benefit from some kind of checks every so often. Not least because my usual state of low to very low BP seemed to change a year or two ago.

About 3 or 4 years back I got a high reading at my GPs and had to go back a couple of times to check. It went down and was put down to white coat syndrome but you never know. I don't usually get that white coat affect. I know because I had a period of BP being taken a lot 4 years ago and it was always low to bottom end of acceptable and my RHR was always the same (within 4 beats of 60BPM).

I reckon one day monitoring devices will become more commonly used by the general public and shared with the GP. Right now though the electronic records system does not allow for input of customer monitoring, something to do with security of data I think. So for now the GP can only review your results then get his/her own done.

[Psamathe]

Not least because my usual state of low to very low BP seemed to change a year or two ago.

About 3 or 4 years back I got a high reading at my GPs and had to go back a couple of times to check. It went down and was put down to white coat syndrome but you never know. I don't usually get that white coat affect. I know because I had a period of BP being taken a lot 4 years ago and it was always low to bottom end of acceptable and my RHR was always the same (within 4 beats of 60BPM)....

I had my blood pressure taken (last year) at a pharmacy as part of a blood sugar/diabetes check thing (so I assume they have decent devices). She took my blood pressure and then started "oh dear ... it's too low ... so low that you should really see your GP ... this is quite serious ..." then she took it again and it was up to within an acceptable range (with a comment "that normally works"). Get you rather scared and your circulatory system reacts.

I got myself an Omron one some time ago but I've never checked the numbers against anything else. It always struck me that having a single reading in a GPs surgery has got to be prone to all sorts of fluctuations (how many coffees you had, how worrying the symptoms you are going in for are, as you mentioned "white coat syndrome", etc.) so I got it so I could take several readings over several days and average them out to get a more representative indication. That said, I've not bothered using it for months.

Ian