1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Hypertension

24 hr ambulatory BP monitor

Posted , 2 users are following.

ajkay
ajkay

My daughter has postural tachycarida and highly unstable BP

A 24hr monitor was carried out sucessfully in 2003

She has been started on Betablockers but the hospital insisted a 24hr BP was taken prior to starting and prior to any increase in dosage

The first monitor took 3 readings only - the rest were errors

The second monitor will not take any readings. The cuff is the correct size. The guidelines have been followed. She has it sited correctly but the cuff squeezes her arm to the point at which she can barely tolerate it then records and error and does so on each of 3 attempts

Myself and my partner tried it and the cuff cannot be tolerated at all or error messages are recorded yet the GP states everything is working correctly

A 24 hr BP monitor carried out b the autonomic unit at RHNN London also failed to obtain more than a handful of readings. The cuff would overinflate on one reading the underinflate on the next hence the cuff would move and twist until it cut off circulation and her arm turned purple. Consequently we only have evidence of the spikes in BP that occur within minutes from one trace taken 2 years ago

The BP can vary from 216/174 to 57/54 within 13 minutes hence the need to show this trend

We have an Omron monitor which gives perfect recordings every time

Has anyone experienced similar or know why this may be happening

Thanks

Andrea

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • ajkay
    ajkay

    Posted

    Further to this the monitor we can obtain readins from is a wrist monitor 
  • ajkay
    ajkay

    Posted

    Last sucessful 24 hr monitor 2013 not 2003. sorry
  • 1942alexander
    1942alexander ajkay

    Posted

    I've had two 24 hours monitorings in the last few years. I was told not to look at them or it may affect the reading but I cheated. I once was sent straight from the doctor's surgery to the nearby hospital when he recorded me at 240/140. When I got to the hospital they tried three machines before they got a reading from one machine that looked like it had come out of a museum. The modern machines do seem to struggle when readings get very high. My gut instinct is that the cuff is not fitted correctly. I find with my home arm monitor, if the reading is abnormally high, it also counts the heartbeat wrong and a quick check usually confirms this so I take it again, a little later. My advice is to get the machine to work correctly on either you or your partner first and then use it on your daughter. You can normally feel where the sensor is located in the cuff so try to position that inside and just above the elbow. Best Wishes...Alex
  • derek76
    derek76 ajkay

    Posted

    Last time my 24 hour monitor was fitted by the nurse at my GP's surgery. I told her that the cuff she used was to tight and I have quite thin arms. About a third of the time the monitor gave an error message or had several tries to get a reading.

    When the cuff was removed my skin was red and wizened looking as if it had a burn. It took about ten days for my arm to return to normal.

    My labile readings don't quite match your daughters high but I can equal her lowest.  My top figure was ten days ago at 232/114.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.