Advice from the BP Measurement Experts
Taking a blood pressure on a companion animal is very different than what you experience at the doctor’s office. You can’t tell a dog or cat to sit still and be quiet throughout the entire blood pressure measurement and actually expect it to happen. It’s more similar to trying to take an infant’s BP, except these wiggly patients have fur!
Believe it or not, your pet can have high blood pressure too! That being said, the significance of this is a bit different than it would be for you and me. Hypertension in cats and dogs is almost always secondary, which means it is caused by an underlying condition or disease. Because secondary hypertension is a signal that something else is wrong, blood pressure screening is a great way to discover other health issues in your pet such as acute kidney disease or hyperthyroidism. BP screening can help to prevent serious organ damage if a condition or disease is caught in its early stages.
Do you ever see a kiosk that measures blood pressure (BP) and take a seat to see how you fare? Well, make sure you are aware of the latest information regarding accuracy of kiosk BP measurements. On June 24, 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a consumer update for blood pressure monitoring kiosks. In this update, users are advised that blood pressure cuffs on public kiosks do not fit everyone and consequently, may not provide accurate BP readings for every user. Luke Herbertson PhD, Biomedical Engineer at the FDA stated, “[BP kiosks] are easily accessible and easy to use. But it’s misleading to think that the devices are appropriate for everybody. They are not one-size-fits-all.” Users with arm circumferences outside of the cuff range may receive inaccurate BP values.
As word gets out about the controversial blood pressure guideline changes published by the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8), the big question for clinicians is “what impact does this have on how we treat patients?” Fortunately, Duke University researchers are looking into this for you. An April 2014 JAMA analysis states that almost 6 million Americans currently taking BP medications might be able to throw them away based on new guidelines and another 13.5 million previously-diagnosed patients with uncontrolled hypertension now meet healthy blood pressure benchmarks.
Latest trends in blood pressure measurement technique have shifted to central blood pressure (CBP) and understanding its affect on us. This topic was prevalent at the recent European Society of Hypertension (ESH) meeting in Milan, especially with regards to understanding how CBP can be used in the future to guide clinical cardiovascular treatment. CBP is your aortic blood pressure near the heart and can be obtained both invasively and noninvasively. The invasive process involves inserting a pressure sensor into the aorta, which is not very desirable especially when reliable noninvasive products exist today.
Does anybody like government imposed penalties? Well, as is normally the case , it depends where you are as a stakeholder.
Readmission penalties drafted in the Affordable Care Act are set to kick in starting October 2013 in the form of Medicare reimbursement cuts to hospitals who have high rates of readmissions for certain health conditions including heart attack, pneumonia and heart failure. Other conditions will be included starting in 2015.
In my last blog post I provided 4 out of 8 new 3rd edition regulatory requirements that impact automated non-invasive blood pressure. These included out of range values, nominal blood pressure ranges, service modes and shock/vibration changes. Here are the final four regulatory requirements that must be addressed if you are designing a product with your own non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) or with NIBP supplied by an OEM provider.
If you're a medical device developer or active in the design process, you've probably been involved with creating a list of "must have" and "nice to have" features and requirements for a new or updated medical device. Some come from market feedback, industry trends, competitor analysis, R&D and others come from medical equipment Regulatory standards. When it comes to safety and meeting regulatory standards, this is always in the mandatory column. With several deadlines looming on the horizon, meeting the latest 3rd edition standards as well as being RoHS compliant are on almost everyone's must have list when starting a new project. So whether you are developing your own NIBP or purchasing OEM NIBP modules, you now have new requirements that need to be a part of your design not only in hardware and software but also in the product's technical documentation.
We’ve already discussed how hypertension is a costly drain on worldwide health care systems and society in general, but this cost is only based on adult hypertension. A recently published report advocates improving the awareness, identification, and treatment of pediatric hypertension and clearly describes the implications of continuing to neglect this problem in the pediatric population. The prevalence of hypertension in children is about 3-5% of the population, but as obesity continues to rise in children, high blood pressure will likely increase making it even more important to raise the awareness of pediatric hypertension.
As a follow-up to the previous post about hypertension neglect in the US, I wanted to provide a bit more information about ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). As we've discussed in previous blog posts, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a commonly-used tool for the identification and treatment of hypertension. Many health care providers are still unaware that ABPM is a reimbursable procedure although Medicare approved reimbursement in 2001. Routine use of ABPM can serve as a source of revenue for physicians while also improving the quality of care for patients.
There are new guidelines for US ABPM Reimbursement.
Download the new copy today!
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report last week recommending strategies to address the "neglected disease" of hypertension in the US. Many people do not realize that high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of death in the US, and it is a risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. One in three US adults has hypertension, and less than half of them have it in control, resulting in an estimated cost of $76 billion in 2010.
Blood Pressure is one of the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 factors included in the My Life Check to help Americans assess and improve their heart health. Small changes in any of the 7 categories lead to improved heart health. Check out your Heart Score today!
Wear Red Day was created to raise awareness about the risk factors of heart disease, specifically for women. It is the #1 killer of American women, even surpassing deaths resulting from all forms of cancer. The Heart Truth provides tools for women to prevent and control risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. Available materials to help women reduce their risk of heart disease include an Action plan, Heart Health Handbook, and a Heart Health Cookbook. To find out more about National Wear Red Day, check out The Heart Truth website and program overview.
®National Wear Red Day is a registered trademark of HHS and AHA.
Nearly 1 in 3 adult Americans have it. African Americans are especially at risk. Learn why hypertension is called the 'silent killer'.
A recent survey published in BMC Family Practice shows that US internists and family practice physicians mistakenly believe they are adequately treating high blood pressure. All of the surveyed physicians felt like they treated hypertension adequately and many cited the biggest challenge in blood pressure control as patient noncompliance.
Cardiac stress testing is commonly used to gauge how well the heart works and to identify if a patient is at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). During a cardiac stress test a patient walks on a treadmill or rides a stationary bike. As exercise intensity increases, the heart has to pump harder and use more oxygen. This mimics the strain placed on the heart when arteries are blocked or narrowed. Several parameters are monitored during the stress test including ECG waveforms, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation.
Since Blog @ SunTech launched in July 2009, there has been a great amount of knowledge shared about blood pressure and blood pressure technologies.
We have covered the importance of accurate blood pressure, ambulatory blood pressure, and even discussed selecting the correct size blood pressure cuff. All the topics we've covered are important, but in many cases, people with high blood pressure are unaware that they have an issue they need to accurately manage.
Dr. Henry Black, president of the American Society of Hypertension, explains the usefulness of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, the short-comings of home bp, and why home bp will never replace ABPM.
Note: To view this video you will need to register for a free membership to Medscape Today.
While many people view blood pressure as simply two numbers, the importance of accurate blood pressure measurement continues to gain visibility. Typically, problems associated with high blood pressure cause us to think about heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and diabetes, but there is another negative effect of hypertension. This week, U.S. researchers released information that suggests people as young as 45 with high blood pressure are much more likely to have memory troubles.[1] The indicating factor was a high diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number).
On Tuesday, September 22, The Dr. Oz Show explored how stress is destroying women's bodies and revealed an Ultimate Anti-Stress Checklist. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was used to assess how stress affected a busy mom's blood pressure throughout the day. The data produced an overall blood pressure profile which is a key indicator of her overall health. Dr. Oz pointed out a few hypertensive readings during the test, which were directly related to stressful tasks (e.g. her son spilling candy all over the grocery store).
