Most home blood-pressure monitor readings are inaccurate

UAlberta study found the readings of home blood-pressure monitors were inaccurate more than two-thirds of the time

Original story: Consumer Affairs, June 2017, Edited and paraphrased for length by Sasha Roeder Mah. - 20 September 2018

Artwork by Natasia Designs

In a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, researchers from the U of A have found that up to 70 per cent of readings from home blood-pressure monitors are "unacceptably inaccurate."

Funded by the University Hospital Foundation, Jennifer Ringrose ('98 MSc), co-author Raj Padwal and their team tested dozens of in-home blood-pressure monitors.

"High blood pressure is the Number 1 cause of death and disability in the world," said Ringrose. "We need to make sure that home blood-pressure readings are accurate."