On another page on this website, we have noted that high-quality automated blood pressure monitors have been shown to be valid, and may even have advantages over older, auscultatory methods.
But I become concerned when I ask patients which blood pressure monitor they have at home, and they typically don’t know. Often, they seem to have purchased whatever was cheapest among the ones available at their local pharmacy.
My recommendation is that we should proactively guide our patients in purchasing an automated blood pressure monitor that has been shown to provide valid blood pressure measurements. But how do we know which ones to recommend?