Practical utility of blood pressure readings obtained by self-determination

We have found self-determination of blood pressure to be a valuable technique in the evaluation and management of our patients. It is sensitive and the patients can detect minor changes in their blood pressures. The method has yielded reproducible results, with identical readings being obtained 6 weeks apart. Recently, we extended the application of self-determination to a larger group of young adults (n = 534) representing a wide range of employment and educational backgrounds. The average time spent teaching them was 20 min. A reading within 5 mmHg of the observer's was achieved in three to 10 attempts (mean 3.7 +/- 1.1) and there was a good correlation between the observer and the subject for both systolic (r = 0.988) and diastolic (r = 0.976) pressures. The average home blood pressure was 120.7 +/- 9.1/75.7 +/- 7 mmHg for men and 111.6 +/- 11/70.1 +/- 8 mmHg for women. We conclude that blood pressure self-determination is sensitive, reproducible and easy to learn.