Devices and techniques for blood pressure measurement and criteria for hypertension adopted by Brazilian physicians: exploratory study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine technical procedures and criteria used by Brazilian physicians for measuring blood pressure and diagnosing hypertension.


METHODS
A questionnaire with 5 questions about practices and behaviors regarding blood pressure measurement and the diagnosis of hypertension was sent to 25,606 physicians in all Brazilian regions through a mailing list. The responses were compared with the recommendations of a specific consensus and descriptive analysis.


RESULTS
Of the 3,621 (14.1%) responses obtained, 57% were from the southeastern region of Brazil. The following items were reported: use of an aneroid device by 67.8%; use of a mercury column device by 14.6%; 11.9% of the participants never calibrated the devices; 35.7% calibrated the devices at intervals < 1 year; 85.8% measured blood pressure in 100% of the medical visits; 86.9% measured blood pressure more than once and on more than one occasion. For hypertension diagnosis, 55.7% considered the patient's age, and only 1/3 relied on consensus statements.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the adequate frequency of both practices, it was far from that expected, and some contradictions between the diagnostic criterion for hypertension and the number of blood pressure measurements were found. The results suggest that, to include the great majority of the medical professionals, disclosure of consensus statements and techniques for blood pressure measurement should go beyond the boundaries of medical events and specialized journals.
Mion
Décio
D
Unidade de Hipertensão Arterial do Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. demionjr@origenet.com.br
Pierin
Angela Maria Geraldo
AM
Lessa
Ines
I
Nobre
Fernando
F
D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D001938:Brazil; D002138:Calibration; D002983:Clinical Competence; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019722:Sphygmomanometers; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires