Last time in the Talking Studies Series, we talked through the Sprint Blood Pressure Trial, which suggests that more intensive blood pressure lowering to less than 120 mm Hg systolic reduces risk of cardiovascular disease and death as compared to standard blood pressure lowering to 140 mm Hg systolic.
This time, I talk through a follow-on study that zooms in on the specific blood pressure measurement protocol the researchers used in the Sprint Blood Pressure Trial (i.e. rest for 5 minutes with arm elevated to heart-level, then take 3 consecutive blood pressure measurements with no observer present and average the readings for the final result) and compares it with a typical protocol used in medical clinics (i.e. sit down and get your blood pressure taken right away in the presence of an observer).
Ultimately, Dr. Rajiv Agarwal, author of the study, aimed to answer the following question:
If we want to translate the results of the Sprint Trial into real-life, when it comes to getting an accurate measurement, does it really make a difference if you follow a strict blood pressure measurement protocol rather than a standard clinical protocol?
Links from the video:
Main study discussed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5523757/)
Original Sprint Blood Pressure Trial
Explanation of Bland-Altman Plot
More On Bland-Altman Plots
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