This week, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, NICE, has said that it is preferable for a blood pressure check to be carried out over a 24-hour period in the patient’s home and while they are carrying out their normal lives than in a GP’s surgery.
It is believed that use of this system could prevent blood pressure readings being inaccurately high because patients are nervous in the surgery.
The system recommended – ambulatory blood pressure monitoring – involves the wearing of an inflated arm cuff and a box on a belt for 24 hours.
