Assessment of blood pressure measuring techniques.

The recommended techniques to measure blood pressure for assessment of hypertension are seldom followed in the ambulatory care setting. This study has found that interns and first-year family practice residents have significant deficits in their knowledge and use of the recommended techniques to measure blood pressure. The results suggest that inadequacies exist in the teaching of blood pressure measuring techniques in our medical schools, the consequences of which are misdiagnosis and improper treatment of high blood pressure.