Background Scientific societies have provided massive guidance on the role blood pressure self-measurements play in assessing hypertension treatment effectiveness, where the necessity for the measurements to strictly follow manual and general instructions in order to obtain proper and reliable readings have been underlined and highlighted.
Material and methods The present study has been aimed at assessing knowledge and skills regarding blood pressure self-measurements by hypertension patients. The patients self-monitored their blood pressure twice a day with a RossmaxAI95CA sphygmomanometer for 10 days. The videorecorded measurements were analysed and the patients’ skills were marked independently by 2 researchers with regard to 20 parameters. A 10 question test was applied to rank each patient’s knowledge. The study was performed at community pharmacies and a health centre in Malopolska region.
Results The study involved 14 patients. A score of 4 points was found to be the mean test score. Less than 30% of the respondents answered properly the questions on cuff inflation value, time interval between having a coffee and taking the measurement to be respected, or which arm to select for measurements. A mean score for measurement performance skills, based on the video analysis, reached 12.2 points, which corresponds to 61% compliance. The patients tended to take blood pressure measurements while leaning forward, as they sat too far from the table, thus having their arm not supported properly. The cuff placed too low, i.e. at the bend of the elbow, or set inversely, with the air tube up, proved to be the most common mistakes. While taking measurements patients would adjust their position in the chair, re-inflate the cuff, write, or inflate the cuff with the hand on which it was placed.
Conclusions The study has shown that hypertension patients due to their insufficient skills and limited knowledge shall be subjected to proper educational procedures on blood pressure self-measurements.