Judy, please don't let your mom stake so much hope on one isolated BP reading at her doc's office. People normally show a significant range in BP throughout the day, and many folks automatically have higher readings under the stress of the examining room.


Regardless of what her numbers are on Thursday, it would probably be a good idea for her to pick up a blood pressure cuff of her own so that she (or you) can monitor her pressure under normal daily conditions. It is not difficult to take a BP, and there are decent low-priced units available from many sources. She should keep a log of her pressures, and present this log to her doctor on her next visit. (she might want to take her cuff into her doc then too, so she can get a calibration to the clinic's cuff.)

My in-laws are both in their 80's, and share a wrist cuff that does an adequate job of tracking their BP's. In addition to providing more complete data to guide the medication decisions for the doc, taking your own BP and maintaining your own records can help you become an active participant (instead of a passive observer) in your health care process.

Just my $ .02 worth....