Your 'Hypertension' Diagnosis - Get a Second Opinion

Your 'Hypertension' Diagnosis - Get a Second Opinion

Do you feel lightheaded or dizzy? Have you been newly diagnosed with high blood pressure and are you taking medication for it? Get your blood pressure back! Better yet, have a professional nurse take it with a stethoscope and blood pressure monitor. Record your blood pressure. A normal blood pressure should be 120/80. Blood pressure that is higher than the specified value for a period of time may cause your doctor to diagnose you with the ICD-10 (I10) billing code HYPERTENSION. My concern is a twofold question; Did the person who took the blood pressure use a machine and did they use the correct technique? It is no mystery or unknown that some technicians perform their jobs better than others. That's my business.

The technique is used to measure blood pressure. The device used is of utmost importance. The reason I say this is because the automatic machines give you a wrong reading compared to a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor. Using a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor, the technician can auscultate or hear the first “beat.” This is the systolic number at which the vessel begins to open and the pressure against the vessel walls is measured as the heart beats. The final blow is the diagnosis number; The vessel is open and blood pressure is determined here while the heart rests between beats. This makes a reading from systolic over diastolic. This reading can determine a person's blood pressure. A diagnosis of hypertension or hypotension or normality is more accurate when heard through a stethoscope. I believe this method is more reliable and should be used for diagnosis rather than using an automatic machine.

Automatic blood pressure monitors: Automatic blood pressure monitors can be reliable when the baseline (using a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer) of a person's pressure has already been determined. Otherwise there will be ambiguity when reading. Automatic machines provide a quick, quick and quick display that can be correct but more often incorrect. Some automatic machines may provide more accurate readings than others. Most don't even read the same thing with the same person using the same arm at the same time. I have not studied the machines, but I have fallen victim to a machine used in my doctor's office. To summarize the use of automatic blood pressure monitors... The readings can be incorrect and should never be used for diagnosis, especially those used on the wrist.

Oh, I know someone says, “Well, the machines are used in the hospital all the time, so they must be somewhat reliable.” Right! The machines used in hospitals and other acute care facilities are not the same caliber as the machines used in doctor's offices and clinics. Listen, I'm not saying not to trust the machines; I say educate yourself about your own blood pressure and how it was measured across all functions.

Technology: The technology of the healthcare professional should be noted and reprimanded, rather than an automatic machine or in a traditional manner. For example, blood pressure should never be measured with bulky sleeves due to clothing. The cuff should be snug and neither tight nor loose. The rubber air tube should be placed in the antecubital space and not posteriorly or elsewhere. During auscultation, the stethoscope bell should also be placed directly under the air tube. For auscultation purposes when using a stethoscope, the area should be quiet.

My experience: In 2013, my doctor diagnosed me with high blood pressure. I questioned it. I had my blood pressure checked repeatedly, after which a high reading was found for a period of six months and certainly never. So I stop taking the medication. At this time I was taking a small dose of lisinopril, which made me cough almost to death anyway. By the way, the cough stopped after about two weeks of stopping lisinopril. That was the worst experience ever! Sorry, but people need to know this too.

I returned to the doctor's office for a diabetes visit and noticed the clerk's technique taking my pressure and reading something high. Well, the technology was way off and I didn't believe what I read. The doctor asked if I had taken my BP medication and I replied, “No, because I don’t have high blood pressure.” Then he started looking to see what was standing that day and assured me that I had high blood pressure and asked me to take the medicines to lower it or make it normal. I said “OK,” but had no intention of taking the medication. I monitored my own blood pressure again with a nurse (my nurse) who used a stethoscope and blood pressure monitor. My pressure was 122/84 (washings) without taking any medications. My baseline is textbook (120/80). I knew that.

On the next visit I noticed that the technician was using the automatic machine and cuff incorrectly again and my pressure was back up. At the same time as this visit, the doctor thought he would send me to a specialist for diabetic education and stabilization. On that first visit, the office worker took my pressures with a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer and it read fairly normal. The doctor came in and said, "Well, I don't think you have high blood pressure, but keep monitoring it and let us know if it's higher than 140. I said sure."

Time passed, about a year of normal pressure recorded every three months, until a visit showed a high value even with conventional devices, but I can't remember the technique.

It was high and the doctor prescribed me 50 mg of losartan once a day. I had to take my first dose on a short vacation so I couldn't monitor my pressure before taking it. I was driving home from Arkansas and realized I couldn't feel the pavement while driving. I was lightheaded and dizzy and had to drive to a rest stop to rest until the dizziness and lightheadedness wore off, almost an hour. I was convinced that I didn't have high blood pressure, I was unable to function and weak because I had taken an antihypertensive medication unnecessarily and had decided to stop taking losartan until I saw the doctor again.

On the next visit, my husband accompanied me to an annual doctor's visit at the doctor's office, where the nurse uses a vending machine. His blood pressure is always normal. After visiting the same doctor with the same office assistant, he was told that his blood pressure needed to be monitored because it was HIGH. Why? Because the office assistant, the doctor's assistant, the orderly or even a nurse took his blood pressure incorrectly? I know she did because the same person took mine and read it up too. I was horrified that this couldn't really happen. I thought, "Is this what's going on in the world? Maybe this country is just for money or pharmaceuticals?" I thought, “Do I need to warn the public about this cavalier attitude toward taking blood pressure?” I thought, “Do I blow the whistle on all the insurance companies that pay for these cockamamie diagnoses of high blood pressure and medications?” The warm part of my heart that made the biggest part of my heart want to write about my experiences because it might happen more often than it should and people need to know.

This is no small faith. It's more real than the Sasquatch footprints, which I've never seen, but apparently others have. But people who have had similar experiences will reflect on their experiences and hopefully shed light on this matter of public awareness.

Inspired by Mel Huddleston