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Dr. Andreev is a general practitioner with over 22 years of experience. He has experience in emergency medicine and children’s diseases, and since 2000 he has been working as a personal physician in the city of Pernik.
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Dr. Andreev is a general practitioner with over 22 years of experience. He has experience in emergency medicine and children’s diseases, and since 2000 he has been working as a personal physician in the city of Pernik.

Why is it important for people to have a blood pressure monitor that they use daily at home?

In our practice, we often ask our patients to measure their blood pressure themselves every day, morning and evening, at the same time, and then record their results. This is because during long-term treatment, sometimes we have to change the medication or re-dose it. For me as a doctor, it is very important to know what the patient’s blood pressure is, for example in the morning at 8:00 and in the evening at 20:00, so that I can properly dose the medication.

What are the most common mistakes your patients make when measuring at home?

Plain and simple – they don’t hear. Some of my patients are very old and that is the main problem. Another problem is that they think that each tone defines a lower and upper blood pressure limit, when in fact only the clear tones they hear in the earpiece of the stethoscope should be considered. It’s hard to explain to them exactly what they need to hear, and that’s why I always question whether they’ve taken their blood pressure correctly. Sometimes they don’t see the arrow well, they don’t put the stethoscope, cuff correctly.

Do you have experience with electronic blood pressure monitors?

In practice, it is more difficult to work with an electronic device, since one of the factors for a correct measurement with one is that the patient is seated and his hand is at the level of the heart. It is more difficult, the patient must not be sitting on the couch, but on a chair, we must adjust the height correctly, etc. In the doctor’s office, we measure the blood when the patient is lying on the couch, so we rely on mechanical ones.

I use an electronic device in my daily life, I have one at home because of my elderly relatives.

What are their advantages over mechanical ones?

It is much easier and more convenient to work with them, and the GP can trust the accuracy of the results. Especially now, during the pandemic situation, when a change in therapy or some kind of consultation is needed, it is often done over the phone. And if I’m not sure the patient is measuring their blood pressure correctly, I can’t rely on those results.

I have patients who travel a lot. They travel 5000 km each. as international drivers and it is very difficult for them to measure their blood pressure with a mechanical device. Sometimes it happens that I get a call from Holland – the person felt bad, put his electronic device on the dashboard and realized that the problem comes from blood pressure.

Are electronic devices difficult to use when talking about the elderly?

No, quite the opposite. They even always tell me, “Doctor, it’s so much easier for me to take my blood this way!”

Do you recommend an electronic device to your patients?

When a patient is newly diagnosed with hypertension, I always have them come to my office with the machine to compare what they are measuring and what I am measuring. And so I decide if the patient can handle a mechanical device or if they are better off using a digital one.

The difference in price between mechanical and electronic devices is not so great and it is not worth buying something supposedly cheaper, which, however, you cannot rely on.

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