Home monitors have made family carers into data collectors, which is mostly a good thing and occasionally a source of unnecessary fear. A reading of 158 over 94 on a Tuesday afternoon is a number, not an emergency.
What we look at
Trend, not incident. Seven days of readings taken at roughly the same times tell a nurse something useful. One reading taken after a flight of stairs, a strong coffee and an argument about the television tells us almost nothing.
When to ring anyway
- A systolic reading above 180 or below 90, repeated after five minutes rest
- Any reading accompanied by chest pain, confusion, or sudden weakness on one side
- A sustained change in the pattern over three or four days
And the rule that overrides the numbers: if the person in front of you does not seem right, that observation is clinical evidence. Ring.
