High blood pressure is called the silent killer for a very good reason.
You can't feel it so you might not do anything to control it.
Then one day it changes your life or ends it.
Is it best to get your blood pressure checked at: a doctor's office, your home or a store that has one of the machines. It's more controversial than you think.
A million people a day use free blood pressure machines.
Ron Schaefer is one of them.
He says, "I'm a stroke survivor"
Schaefer is on a mission to make more people aware of their blood pressure. He already knows how high blood pressure can blindside you.
"I got out of my car and I found I was walking like a drunken sailor into my house. I called a lady friend of mine and she came over and saw my right eye and my right lip drooping. She said you are having a stroke." says Schaefer.
He's upset that his once favorite testing spot, Target, took the machines out.
"I go to the pharmacy where it's normally located only to find out there's a bare wall. The machine's gone."
Target says it removed the machines because customers were not using them, but Ron insists he got a different answer when he asked earlier this year.
"She said there was a problem from the mayo clinic that said there's errors in the machine and therefore we would not want to have this machine in our place.
Dr. Sheldon Sheps was asked: how accurate are the blood pressure machines in grocery stores and drug stores? He answered, not accurate enough to make health decisions regarding your blood pressure.
"So the idea is great, i think the fact that you can get your blood pressure checked, you can get screened, it had the goal of helping people maintain good control but in actual practice it hasn't worked out very well.”
Sheps wrote: Generally no information is available regarding the care of these devices.
"They need to be calibrated and maintained on a regular basis and you don't know if that's happening."
LifeClinic, a major manufacturer of the blood pressure machines, wants Sheps to rephrase those statements and one in a different area that says the machines aren't accurate.
The president of LifeClinic says the statements do a disservice to all those who use the machines.
He says, “I'm a heart patient, I had trouble with my heart and kidney so I come off and on to check my blood pressure.”
Jasodi Kapoor uses one of two machines.
“It's very, very important we are lucky to have this one over here.” He says.
Mike Sorenson has high blood pressure, and uses the free machines to make sure he's keeping it under control.
He says, “I've gotten tests at the hospital and stuff, yeah it's pretty accurate."
More shots of Ron on the machine
LifeClinic says the machines recalibrate themselves several times a day, and are quite accurate. Adding: they are meant for monitoring, not as a replacement for a visit to the doctor.
Which brings up an interesting observation by Dr. Richard Grimm, a cardiologist who conducts studies of blood pressure readings.
“I think many of those machines are quite accurate. To be honest, I think the value you get in most of those situations is probably in most people better than what they're going to get in their doctor's office.”
Grimm believes blood pressure tests at the doctor's office can be misleading for a number of reasons.
“You're often in a hurry, rushing in for an appointment, and you may be talking to the person taking your blood pressure which can affect it.”
He also says don't ever allow the nurse to put the cuff over your clothing like this demonstration shows.
"That's a big no no. The sweater's going to really muffle the sounds. You're going to get a much lower pressure than what the pressure really is."
Dr. Grimm says it's not so much where you measure your blood pressure, it's how.
WEB EXTRA: HOW TO GET YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKED
Cardiologist Dr. Richard Grimm says it's not so much where you measure your blood pressure, it's how. He says everyone must do the following:
1. Sit silent for three to five minutes before the test.
2. Put your feet flat on the floor, support your back.
3. Do not have any clothing between your skin and the cuff.
4. Keep track of their readings over a period of time.