Authors: Akpolat T
Inaccuracy of home sphygmomanometers is a common, neglected and often ignored problem. The aims of this review are to emphasize the advantages of self-measurement of blood pressure (BP) at home, to summarize basic features of automated home BP measurement devices, to point out the distinction between validation, calibration and accuracy of home sphygmomanometers and to discuss some practical points for the improvement of BP control in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients for nephrologists. Four features of automated sphygmomanometers need to be emphasized: measurement site, cuff-size, validation status and accuracy. The validation protocols do not guarantee the accuracy of a particular device for an individual patient. Special patient groups such as those with early...