low bp's

.......had a slight adjustment to my pacer the other day......now bp's in the double digits....as low as 70/45.......I am told that my pacer has nothing to do with my pressure........anyone had the same experience????.......nurse say's..." your machine is broken".......IT"S NOT!!!!!!!

6 Comments

Machine? Broken?

by Sue H. - 2012-03-16 02:03:25

I hate to be so sharp in my answer but what the heck??

She says your machine is broken?...on what did she base this comment? I'm really speechless.

Go back to where you had pacer adjusted as soon as you can and have a qualified tech or doc take a look at your pacer functioning.

Some people should not be in the medical profession.

Sue

Which machine is broken?

by IAN MC - 2012-03-16 04:03:29

Hi Gerry ... I found your message a little unclear, if the nurse was referring to your BP machine she could be right. Clarification please

Ian

You do not want to go there!

by donr - 2012-03-17 01:03:05

Gerry, right now, you are in a stinking match w/ a skunk - you cannot win.

The woman at your cardio was so far off base w/ her proclamation that your BP machine was broken that she should have been tagged out!

I have that problem w/ ANY automatic BP machine - it gives me false BP's. Especially when I am having a run of PVC's. All because it cannot accurately sense my pulse - it misses the weak premature beats.

At this point, neither of you knows who is right & who is wrong.

What you want to do is take your machine into their office & compare its readings to their machine's. That is the ONLY way to find out. Someone just might be unpleasantly surprised. After that, have her grab from their museum a manual cuff & check you against that. My cardio refuses to get automatic machines & uses - are you ready for this - a mercury column device. He then doesn't have to worry about calibration - gravity doesn't vary. his rationale - so many of his patients have weird heart beats that he doesn't want his BP data contaminated by potential false readings on the automatic device.

Don

Common comment

by ElectricFrank - 2012-03-17 02:03:23

Over the years any time my BP instrument didn't match the one in the doctors office they always make some comment about the accuracy of mine. With me they are doing it to the wrong person since I am an instrumentation engineer. The accuracy issue dates way back into the instruments of the 1940's or earlier. That's why they put so much faith in the mercury type. It's accuracy depends on the weight of mercury which doesn't change. However, any modern instrument will maintain its accuracy unless it has been badly abused.

The real accuracy problem is the method itself. They have to make the assumption that the amount of air pressure need to inflate the cuff sufficiently to stop blood flow in the underlying artery deep in the arm. The problem is that any tense muscles in that part of the arm will increase the pressure needed to compress them as well.

I enjoy giving them a bad time with it. If they get a normal low reading on me I tell the nurse to measure it again, that it should be higher. Then as she inflates the cuff I tighten the biceps in the arm and produce a high reading.

frank

Thanks for the warning, magster

by ElectricFrank - 2012-03-17 08:03:26

I'll be quick to log off if I make the wrong kind of comment to you. LOL I wonder where the shot from the hip goes when we log off?

Happy st Pats to you too.

frank

(-:

by Sue H. - 2012-03-17 09:03:01

I guess I missed which machine in my answer to you but I was so infuriated by her comment that I shot from the hip...I'm a hot headed Irishwoman ...LOL....but I still think the nurse was out of bounds.

You should still have your pacer checked just to be sure...

Sue

PS. Happy st Patrick's day all ......

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