Diagnosis and Management of Hypertension (HTN) in Primary Care

1. We recommend screening adults for elevated blood pressure periodically. (Strong for)

2. We suggest using attended or unattended, fully automated office blood pressure measurement (programmed to wait five minutes and record the average of three measurements separated by at least 30 seconds).

(Weak for)

3. When fully automated blood pressure measurement is not available, we suggest measurement of blood pressure using standard technique and a properly calibrated and validated sphygmomanometer. (Weak for)

4. We suggest using out-of-office blood pressure monitoring methods (ambulatory 24-hour monitoring or home blood pressure measurements) to inform the diagnosis and management of hypertension. (Weak for)

5. Among patients treated for hypertension, we suggest offering home blood pressure self-monitoring with co-interventions for lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure. (Weak for)