Comparison of acceptability of and preferences for different methods of measuring blood pressure in primary care.

Blood pressure is probably the most common measurement used in clinical practice and the most common reason for initiation of long term treatment. Recent guidelines for the use of ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure recommend its use in both initial diagnosis (before starting treatment) and assessing control. If ambulatory monitoring is to be used more often we need evidence about its acceptability. Anecdotal reports of its acceptability exist, 3 and one large study found that the major drawback was sleep disturbance. It is not clear if patients regard such inconvenience and disturbance as worth while to obtain accurate readings or what patients feel about the alternatives. One study of home blood pressure monitoring suggested that patients found it acceptable. No study has yet explored the main issues for patients about the acceptability of the different methods of measuring blood pressure or compared the acceptability of all the available methods.