High blood pressure is one of the most common diagnoses in primary care. Doctors are encouraged to treat it in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications, such as heart attacks and strokes.

There is, however, no fixed threshold for “high” blood pressure. It is a sliding scale, and when high becomes “too high” depends on other conditions or risk factors. And, as many people know, blood pressure rises and falls throughout the day.

This complicates matters further when it comes to home monitoring devices, which are now fairly cheap and readily available. The problem arises when blood pressures taken in the surgery are higher than those recorded at home. Which set can be discounted?

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