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by Zenzero 615 days ago
Doctors recognize that non-invasive BP measurement is an imperfect screening tool. Anybody worth their salt isn't getting worked up about these level of details, because it's largely a waste of time and effort. The solution to an error prone screening tool is not to repeatedly use the screening tool. You move on to more accurate and focused methods of testing.
2 comments

> The solution to an error prone screening tool is not to repeatedly use the screening tool.

It can be. Repeated in office blood pressure measurements increase sensitivity and lower specificity. It's not as good as 24 hour monitoring but sometimes that's the best you've got.

> You move on to more accurate and focused methods of testing

Yes, AFTER the imperfect tool gives you something to worry about. So you still need the imperfect tool, which is what I think a lot of people are missing in this conversation.