Q: The instructions for my home blood-pressure machine make it clear that you should be sitting for at least five minutes, with your arm at just below heart height.  In the doctor’s office, you hop off the scale, climb on a stool and sit with your legs dangling.  Then the nurse takes your BP with your arm hanging down, nowhere near the level of your heart.  How can that be accurate?

A: We too have been shocked to observe how often blood-pressure measurements in the clinic are performed incorrectly.  As a result, home blood-pressure readings may be more reliable.  They also lead to better blood-pressure control (Lancet March 10, 2018)

• article by Joe and Teresa Graedon
• copyright The Seattle Times