Whenever I get my BP checked at a doctor's office, it's recorded as 120/80. (It never varies, which makes me wonder if the person taking it is on automatic pilot some of the time.) But whenever my BP is taken by a machine, the results are quite different. Doesn't matter if I go to Wal-Mart's machine, or K-Mart, or the drug store, or even the automatic cuff at the hospital ER, they always record a systolic number ranging from 110 to 130s and a bottom number way down there--somewhere between 38 and 55.

Why would it be so different on the machines? More importantly, I've read that a big difference between the two numbers is not good. I'm 61 (female), and there's a strong history of heart disease in my family. I mentioned this discrepancy in numbers to my physician, but he blew it off as a faulty machine. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Alisande

I, too, would be inclined to think the self-help machines are probably faulty. They are often inaccurate. If you really are concerned, why don't you buy a good cuff monitor. You might want to ask your pharmacist for his recommendation of a good one or check the recommendations people on this board have made in previous threads. Have it calibrated against one at your doctor's office. Or some fire departments will let you check yours against theirs. (Ours did.) Then take your own regular readings at home. This will give you a much better idea if you really do have low diastolic readings.