It’s possible that millions of people are on high blood pressure medication today who don’t really need to be:
Currently, anyone suspected of having high blood pressure is diagnosed by a GP with an inflatable arm cuff. Doctors then call the patient back for additional readings, but these are always taken at their surgery or in hospital.
New draft guidance to be published today by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says as many as one in four people experiences a surging pulse rate on entering a GP’s surgery.
This nervous response, termed “white coat hypertension”, can significantly raise blood pressure readings and many people are being misdiagnosed as a result.
To counter this, Nice is recommending that doctors do not rely solely on readings taken in their own surgeries. After the initial assessment, a patient should be sent home and asked to wear an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) device.
A suspicious mind might wonder if there’s a financial benefit to drug companies large enough to have them pressure physicians to diagnose high blood pressure even in people whose readings are not far off normal.
H/T to Eric Kirkland for the link.
