Blood pressure reading taken immediately at doctor’s office.

Q: My internist has labeled me hypertensive and I am on Diovan, amlodipine and propranolol. My question is this: my pressures are measured in his office immediately upon sitting down with his nurse while she is talking to me. I have found that my pressures at home are 20 points lower on the systolic and diastolic side and normal when I sit for a few minutes before taking the reading. I am told that having a labile reading still categorizes me as hypertensive and the lower the better, therefore meds are still warranted. Do you agree with this philosophy?

A: Blood pressure should be taken correctly, especially in a doctor’s office. The current recommendation is to let a person sit quietly for a few minutes before taking blood pressure. Ask to have it taken correctly on your next visit. Keep in mind you are on three different blood pressure medicines. You get lower or normal readings at home. This means the medicine is working but you still have the condition known as hypertension. I am not sure how your doctor is using the term labile hypertension. All blood pressure is labile, it goes up and down
throughout the day.

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