Toronto
Nearly 20 per cent of people
receiving treatment for hypertension do not actually have a problem, but they
are often misdiagnosed as a result of doctors using manual devices to measure
blood pressure, a study has showed.
"About 20 per cent of people
receiving treatment for hypertension don't actually have a problem and do not
need medication. This is due mainly to the fact that their blood pressure was
improperly measured," said lead author Janusz Kaczorowski, Professor at
Universite de Montreal in Canada.
More than half of doctors in the
study, published in the journal Canadian Family Physician, were found using
manual devices to measure blood pressure, a dated technology that often leads
to misdiagnosis.
A survey among Canadian family
doctors in 2016 revealed that 52 per cent of the 769 respondents used a manual
tensiometer to measure blood pressure. Only 43 per cent used an automatic
device.
"Clinicians should use
automatic devices," Kaczorowski said.
Automated measurement has the
advantage of eliminating what's known as white-coat syndrome -- which refers to
artificially high blood pressure resulting from the stress of being in a
doctor's office and human interaction.
Clinicians should adopt these
devices to detect individuals likely to suffer from high blood pressure and
reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It is possible to lower blood
pressure through a healthy diet, regular physical activity, moderate alcohol
consumption, reduced intake of dietary sodium, avoidance of exposure to tobacco
products, and stress management, the researchers suggested.
—IANS
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