Checking Your Blood Pressure? You Might Want to Lie Down.

Your doctor’s appointment may now take a few extra minutes in order to check your blood pressure not only when sitting but also when lying flat. Failing to check blood pressure while in the supine position can miss patients at risk of developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and even premature death, according to data from a recent 30-year <a href="https://newsroom.heart.org/news/high-blood-pressure-while-lying-down-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-health-complications?preview=aea1" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">study</a> released at a <a href="https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/?_ga=2.150341365.218458210.1693916462-1357375536.1667480843#!/10947" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">meeting</a> of the American Heart Association. “The findings are surprising and suggest that having people lie flat to measure their blood pressure could potentially help identify those who need treatment despite seemingly normal readings taken while seated,” Stephen Juraschek, MD, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and lead investigator, <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/news/2023/09/08/a-surprising-finding-about-taking-blood-pressure-lying-down" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement. Nearly 50% of US citizens, ages 20 years and up, <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001123" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">have high blood pressure</a>. That is close to 122 million people. And this number only increases with age, with three-quarters of the population 65 and older having hypertension. Blood pressure readings provide the essential information physicians use to determine care for patients with hypertension by implementing diet, lifestyle changes, or medication and to anticipate future problems, but obtaining accurate predictive readings is complicated. Getting the numbers correct is critical. Every increase of 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (top number) or 10 in diastolic blood pressure (bottom number) doubles a person’s chance of death from a stroke or heart attack, according to an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/HYP.0000000000000065" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">article</a> in Hypertension. <a href="https://medium.com/wise-well/checking-your-blood-pressure-you-might-want-to-lie-down-2e89913ce866">Learn More</a>