Monitoring blood pressure all day is a must

Hyderabad: Measuring of blood pressure at different times during 24 hours is being emphasised upon as it is found that management is much easier while the treatment though effective it is not practical for a large populace in India.

Experts state that 24-hour blood pressure measuring is not mandatory in India but is advised for those patients who have uncontrolled blood pressure, hidden blood pressure or severe diabetes where there is a need for better management of blood pressure. The new guidelines by the American Heart Association states that the reading of blood pressure can change 10 or even 20 points over the course of seconds and hence it is important to ensure that the patients are relaxed before taking the blood pressure.

Dr Sunil Kapoor, senior cardiologist said, “Yes it is true that blood pressure at different times is different. The BP is lowest from 1 am to 4 am at night. In the morning it starts to increase and from 7 am to noon and late evening it is found to be high. Hence for those who have reported high BP, their readings are taken during different times to understand when it is high. This improves the treatment outcomes.”

An ambulatory device is used to record the BP for 24 hours and it is found that treatment outcomes are much better. 

Dr Hari Kishan, senior general physician at Apollo Hospitals said, “The multiple readings with the device are practically not required for all. Hence it is not a general practice. It is used in specific cases. Some of the patients are offered this reading to understand the variation. 

“In some cases, we ask the patient to use digital devices and take readings at home at different timings and note it down. This is also found to help as it gives a profile about the BP,” the senior physician  said.