Health check as you WAIT for a GP

  • Researchers say blood pressure tests in hospital waiting rooms would save lives
  • It would free up GP appointment time so doctors wouldn’t have to take readings
  • Heart disease is the second biggest killer in the UK after cancer

By

Sophie Borland for the Daily Mail


Published:
20:24 EDT, 8 May 2017

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Updated:
20:39 EDT, 8 May 2017

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Patients should be told to measure their blood pressure in GP waiting rooms to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, Oxford University researchers claim.

Surgeries are increasingly installing fixed blood pressure machines which enable patients to take readings themselves. 

They would also free up GP appointment time as doctors would not have to spend time doing the readings themselves.

Patients should be told to measure their blood pressure in GP waiting rooms to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, researchers claim (stock image) 

Patients should be told to measure their blood pressure in GP waiting rooms to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, researchers claim (stock image) 

Patients should be told to measure their blood pressure in GP waiting rooms to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, researchers claim (stock image) 

A further advantage of the scheme is that patients are less likely to have abnormally high readings because they are not actually in the doctor’s consulting room when the readings are taken, which can lead to anxiety, or so-called ‘white collar syndrome.’

An estimated one in three adults in the UK have high blood pressure but a third have never been diagnosed.

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The condition results in extra strain being placed on the heart and blood vessels which in time, increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

But it doesn’t usually cause any symptoms and many patients only find out they have the condition when it has already caused harm.

Academics from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford carried out in depth interviews with 30 patients from three nearby GP surgeries.

All had installed blood pressure machines in waiting rooms and patients insert their arm into a mental cuff and take a ticket to the receptionist.

If the reading is high, their GP will carry out further measurements and possibly prescribe tablets if a diagnosis is confirmed.

The study published in the British Journal of General Practice found many patients used the machine while waiting for an appointment for an unrelated condition.

Others with previously diagnosed high blood pressure were able to walk in and check their readings without having to make a separate consultation.

The study published in the British Journal of General Practice found many patients used the machine while waiting for an appointment for an unrelated condition.

The study published in the British Journal of General Practice found many patients used the machine while waiting for an appointment for an unrelated condition.

The study published in the British Journal of General Practice found many patients used the machine while waiting for an appointment for an unrelated condition.

The research was only small and did not establish how many new patients had been diagnosed with high blood pressure as a result of the machines.

But doctors’ leaders and charities said the devices would help ‘empower’ patients to take control of their health whilst also freeing up GPs’ time.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘If patients are comfortable and able to use these devices ahead of their appointment, this can save time during the consultation and enable discussion of more pertinent issues – or, perhaps highlight that there is a problem with the patient’s blood pressure that needs to be addressed more formally.

‘Taking the blood pressure test away from the consultation room can also help to mitigate some of the effects of ‘white coat syndrome’ for some patients, thereby achieving a more natural blood pressure reading.

Heart disease including heart attacks and strokes is the second biggest killer in the UK after cancer.

It claims 160,000 lives a year which is a quarter of all premature deaths, defined as before the age of 75.

Chris Allen, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: ‘High blood pressure causes damage to your heart and blood vessels, but most people don’t have any symptoms. Knowing your blood pressure can help to delay or prevent a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke.

‘By empowering people to monitor their own blood pressure and then report it back to their GP, we can help to better manage their risk of health problems.’

Dominic Brand, of the Stroke Association said: ‘High blood pressure contributes to around half of all strokes in the UK. It’s a dangerous condition as it doesn’ t normally present symptoms, so more people need to be aware that getting tested regularly is the only way to find out if you have it.’ 

 

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