title: Prevalence of pseudoresistant hypertension due to inaccurate blood pressure measurement.
abstract: The prevalence of pseudoresistant hypertension (HTN) due to inaccurate BP measurement remains unknown. Triage BP measurements and measurements obtained at the same clinic visit by trained physicians were compared in consecutive adult patients referred for uncontrolled resistant HTN (RHTN). Triage BP measurements were taken by the clinic staff during normal intake procedures. BP measurements were obtained by trained physicians using the BpTRU (VSM Med Tech Ltd. Coquitlam, Canada) device. The prevalence of uncontrolled RHTN and differences in BP measurements were compared. Of 130 patients with uncontrolled RHTN, 33.1% (n = 43) were falsely identified as having uncontrolled RHTN based on triage BP measurements. The median (inter-quartile range) of differences in systolic BP between pseudoresistant and true resistant groups were 23 (17-33) mm Hg and 13 (6-21) mm Hg, respectively (P = .0001). The median (inter-quartile range) of differences in diastolic BP between the two groups were 12 (7-18) mm Hg and 8 (4-11) mm Hg, respectively (P = .001). Triage BP technique overestimated the prevalence of uncontrolled RHTN in approximately 33% of the patients emphasizing the importance of obtaining accurate BP measurements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Biology and Hypertension, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. Electronic address: cardiothorax@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hemal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bhatt
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Biology and Hypertension, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Biology and Hypertension, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Judd
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Biology and Hypertension, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oparil
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Biology and Hypertension, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Calhoun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors; D003329:Coronary Vasospasm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: Blood pressure; blood pressure measurement technique; pseudoresistant hypertension; resistant hypertension