Guest guest Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 As far as I know, manual cuffs are still considered the gold standard. I recall an Audio Digest CME program that named one specific model of home cuff made by Omron that was good, but I do not recall the model. Still, I don’t think those automated cuffs are intended to be used in a professional setting. Ask a cardiologist or vascular doc, but I’d bet they say stick with a manual cuff & preferably even an old mercury version if you can get one. blood pressure Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than $800. Anyone using the " at home " models and finding them to be accurate enough? Thanks, Mike and Kari Jewett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 make sure of course that the cuff is the proper size (width = 2/3 arm circumference); i would not go with a mercury cuff, since a spill is potentially disastrous. a decent wall mount gauge and cuff should be <$100. when i look at bp readings, i also look at their history of readings, and see if they are in line. LL Brock DO wrote: As far as I know, manual cuffs are still considered the gold standard. I recall an Audio Digest CME program that named one specific model of home cuff made by Omron that was good, but I do not recall the model. Still, I don’t think those automated cuffs are intended to be used in a professional setting. Ask a cardiologist or vascular doc, but I’d bet they say stick with a manual cuff & preferably even an old mercury version if you can get one. -----Original Message-----From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of barnabasgoldSent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 9:04 AMTo: Subject: blood pressure Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than $800. Anyone using the "at home" models and finding them to be accurate enough?Thanks,Mike and Kari Jewett __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 I started out with a plan to use an automated BP cuff at my front desk for people to come in and get a quick BP check done by my receptionist. I purchased an OMRON, but I do not have the model number with me. I will look at work tomorrow and let you know. I do know it was not terribly expensive (around $80 I think). I purchased it through my medical supplier. I wanted to make sure it was accurate, so for the first 3 months I used it, I took the pressure manually first and then rechecked it using the automated cuff with about 5 minutes in between checks. I did this on all my patients. I found the cuff not only accurate, but that it actually noticed higher systolic pressures that could be missed by under-inflating the manual cuff. It does over-estimate the diastolic on individuals with pulses below 60, so I do manual BP on any one with bradycardia. I continue to double check BP occasionally just to make sure, but I almost exclusively use my auto cuff now. I bought a second Omron cuff for the front desk. The main problem I see with the auto cuff is that I tend to talk to the patient more while it is trying to get a measurement, and this can result in inaccurate readings. My remedy for this is to count their respiratory rate at this time so I am not tempted to talk. I also have added confidence in these numbers, as the nephologists I send people to for chronic kidney disease get very similar numbers to my charted numbers on patients. No ties to Omron or anything else. , MD Durango, Colorado On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:04:25 -0000 " barnabasgold " wrote: > Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > $800. Anyone using the " at home " models and finding them to be > accurate enough? > Thanks, > Mike and Kari Jewett > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Omron HEM-711AC and HEM- 712C are the specific models mentioned in Audio-Digest. The author is one of the JNC-7 members & advises using traditional auscultation rather than oscillometric cuffs. He actually claims that even the calibrated & sealed needle-based devices need recalibrated every 6 months (sounds a bit anal-retentive to me), and recommends mercury filled calibrated devices as the gold standard. He says the automated cuffs tend to overestimate systolic & underestimate diastolic BP. You can find the article at www.Audio-Digest.com & search under family practice for “Omron”. The article is from 2004. Re: blood pressure I started out with a plan to use an automated BP cuff at my front desk for people to come in and get a quick BP check done by my receptionist. I purchased an OMRON, but I do not have the model number with me. I will look at work tomorrow and let you know. I do know it was not terribly expensive (around $80 I think). I purchased it through my medical supplier. I wanted to make sure it was accurate, so for the first 3 months I used it, I took the pressure manually first and then rechecked it using the automated cuff with about 5 minutes in between checks. I did this on all my patients. I found the cuff not only accurate, but that it actually noticed higher systolic pressures that could be missed by under-inflating the manual cuff. It does over-estimate the diastolic on individuals with pulses below 60, so I do manual BP on any one with bradycardia. I continue to double check BP occasionally just to make sure, but I almost exclusively use my auto cuff now. I bought a second Omron cuff for the front desk. The main problem I see with the auto cuff is that I tend to talk to the patient more while it is trying to get a measurement, and this can result in inaccurate readings. My remedy for this is to count their respiratory rate at this time so I am not tempted to talk. I also have added confidence in these numbers, as the nephologists I send people to for chronic kidney disease get very similar numbers to my charted numbers on patients. No ties to Omron or anything else. , MD Durango, Colorado On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:04:25 -0000 " barnabasgold " <goatsrkids2comcast (DOT) net> wrote: > Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > $800. Anyone using the " at home " models and finding them to be > accurate enough? > Thanks, > Mike and Kari Jewett > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Thanks, for the input. , I hear you have alot of snow these days. Both my mom and dad were from Silverton and I still have an aunt and uncle who live there. Was back there about two years ago - it never changes, does it? Enjoy your white Christmas. Kari Re: blood pressure I started out with a plan to use an automated BP cuff at my front desk for people to come in and get a quick BP check done by my receptionist. I purchased an OMRON, but I do not have the model number with me. I will look at work tomorrow and let you know. I do know it was not terribly expensive (around $80 I think). I purchased it through my medical supplier.I wanted to make sure it was accurate, so for the first 3 months I used it, I took the pressure manually first and then rechecked it using the automated cuff with about 5 minutes in between checks. I did this on all my patients. I found the cuff not only accurate, but that it actually noticed higher systolic pressures that could be missed by under-inflating the manual cuff. It does over-estimate the diastolic on individuals with pulses below 60, so I do manual BP on any one with bradycardia.I continue to double check BP occasionally just to make sure, but I almost exclusively use my auto cuff now. I bought a second Omron cuff for the front desk. The main problem I see with the auto cuff is that I tend to talk to the patient more while it is trying to get a measurement, and this can result in inaccurate readings. My remedy for this is to count their respiratory rate at this time so I am not tempted to talk.I also have added confidence in these numbers, as the nephologists I send people to for chronic kidney disease get very similar numbers to my charted numbers on patients.No ties to Omron or anything else. , MDDurango, ColoradoOn Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:04:25 -0000"barnabasgold" <goatsrkids2comcast (DOT) net> wrote:> Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > $800. Anyone using the "at home" models and finding them to be > accurate enough?> Thanks,> Mike and Kari Jewett> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 I went on EBay and picked up a used hospital Dynamap machine for $60. It is one of the models that will fit on an IV pole. I took it to the basement of the hospital where the tech maintenance guys service all of the hospital's equipment. For the cost of two footlong hoagies (Personally delivered), they bench tested and calibrated it for me. When I went to pick it up, they handed me a box full of tubing and cuffs for my machine that they had lying around. The hospital had upgraded thier equipment and they didn't need them anymore. I love it and trust it. , " barnabasgold " wrote: > > Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > $800. Anyone using the " at home " models and finding them to be > accurate enough? > Thanks, > Mike and Kari Jewett > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 sounds like something i would do. scott gets the "less than a dollar a day" award today. good job! here's a toast to truly low overhead! LOL LLs_clemen wrote: I went on EBay and picked up a used hospital Dynamap machine for $60. It is one of the models that will fit on an IV pole. I took it to the basement of the hospital where the tech maintenance guys service all of the hospital's equipment. For the cost of two footlong hoagies (Personally delivered), they bench tested and calibrated it for me. When I went to pick it up, they handed me a box full of tubing and cuffs for my machine that they had lying around. The hospital had upgraded thier equipment and they didn't need them anymore. I love it and trust it. , "barnabasgold" wrote:>> Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > $800. Anyone using the "at home" models and finding them to be > accurate enough?> Thanks,> Mike and Kari Jewett> __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Kari, The Omron BP model I use is the HEM 780. On this same note, I have done some web-based research on accuracy of various BP cuffs. Most of the sources still state that mercury based BP cuffs are the " gold standard " and other types tend to over or under estimate BP, but they never say by how much. Are we talking 2mmHg or 20mmHg of over/under-estimation?? The only source I found that even acknowledged that mercury-based BP cuffs were getting harder to find due to environmental concerns was Up To Date. If anyone has sources of actual number-based data on the " innacuaracy " of digital cuffs, I would be very interested. On the issue of snow- The snow is absolutely gorgeous!!! It stayed on the trees for 2 full days, as we seemed to have been spared the high winds that traumatized Denver. Take care! , MD Durango, CO On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:16:07 -0500 wrote: > Thanks, for the input. , I hear you have alot of snow these days. > Both my mom and dad were from Silverton and I still have an aunt and uncle >who live there. Was back there about two years ago - it never changes, does >it? Enjoy your white Christmas. > Kari > Re: blood pressure > > > I started out with a plan to use an automated BP cuff at my front desk for > people to come in and get a quick BP check done by my receptionist. I > purchased an OMRON, but I do not have the model number with me. I will look >at > work tomorrow and let you know. I do know it was not terribly expensive > (around $80 I think). I purchased it through my medical supplier. > > I wanted to make sure it was accurate, so for the first 3 months I used it, >I > took the pressure manually first and then rechecked it using the automated > cuff with about 5 minutes in between checks. I did this on all my patients. > I found the cuff not only accurate, but that it actually noticed higher > systolic pressures that could be missed by under-inflating the manual cuff. > It does over-estimate the diastolic on individuals with pulses below 60, so >I > do manual BP on any one with bradycardia. > > I continue to double check BP occasionally just to make sure, but I almost > exclusively use my auto cuff now. I bought a second Omron cuff for the >front > desk. The main problem I see with the auto cuff is that I tend to talk to >the > patient more while it is trying to get a measurement, and this can result >in > inaccurate readings. My remedy for this is to count their respiratory rate >at > this time so I am not tempted to talk. > > I also have added confidence in these numbers, as the nephologists I send > people to for chronic kidney disease get very similar numbers to my charted > numbers on patients. > > No ties to Omron or anything else. > > , MD > Durango, Colorado > > On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:04:25 -0000 > " barnabasgold " wrote: > > Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > > $800. Anyone using the " at home " models and finding them to be > > accurate enough? > > Thanks, > > Mike and Kari Jewett > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Ah, White Christmas we got 2 feet! Beautiful with the trees that have lights on them, illuminating the snow at night. Wish I had a camera to do it justice. A. Eads, M.D. Pinnacle Family Medicine, PLLC phone fax P.O. Box 7275 Woodland Park, CO 80863 From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of goatsrkids2@... Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 12:16 PM To: Subject: Re: blood pressure Thanks, for the input. , I hear you have alot of snow these days. Both my mom and dad were from Silverton and I still have an aunt and uncle who live there. Was back there about two years ago - it never changes, does it? Enjoy your white Christmas. Kari Re: blood pressure I started out with a plan to use an automated BP cuff at my front desk for people to come in and get a quick BP check done by my receptionist. I purchased an OMRON, but I do not have the model number with me. I will look at work tomorrow and let you know. I do know it was not terribly expensive (around $80 I think). I purchased it through my medical supplier. I wanted to make sure it was accurate, so for the first 3 months I used it, I took the pressure manually first and then rechecked it using the automated cuff with about 5 minutes in between checks. I did this on all my patients. I found the cuff not only accurate, but that it actually noticed higher systolic pressures that could be missed by under-inflating the manual cuff. It does over-estimate the diastolic on individuals with pulses below 60, so I do manual BP on any one with bradycardia. I continue to double check BP occasionally just to make sure, but I almost exclusively use my auto cuff now. I bought a second Omron cuff for the front desk. The main problem I see with the auto cuff is that I tend to talk to the patient more while it is trying to get a measurement, and this can result in inaccurate readings. My remedy for this is to count their respiratory rate at this time so I am not tempted to talk. I also have added confidence in these numbers, as the nephologists I send people to for chronic kidney disease get very similar numbers to my charted numbers on patients. No ties to Omron or anything else. , MD Durango, Colorado On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:04:25 -0000 " barnabasgold " <goatsrkids2comcast (DOT) net> wrote: > Would anyone mind telling us which automated blood pressure cuff you > use and how much you paid for it. We've been taking bp manually since > we opened in September and are thinking about purchasing one. Of > course our sales rep says we can't get an accurate one for less than > $800. Anyone using the " at home " models and finding them to be > accurate enough? > Thanks, > Mike and Kari Jewett > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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