BP monitoring made me anxious ‘I felt anxious one evening when I had a particularly high [self-monitoring] reading, although the feeling passed quickly.’ (ID229, M, 61 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘I felt I was wearing a bomb with the 24-hour BP. No doubt the readings should correspond.’ (ID285, F, 58 years, Anx+, Dep+) ’24-hour monitor was very stressful, in my experience. Twice a day home monitoring less so, but still a factor … both systems are, in my view, hard to live with.’ (ID220, M, 60 years, Anx−, Dep−) |
BP monitoring disturbs home life/everyday activities ‘A largely enjoyable experience … with the twice-daily [self-monitoring] readings becoming part of everyday life!’ (ID240, M, 73 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘The timing of morning and evening [self-monitoring readings] has been inconvenient and rushed at times.’ (ID220, M, 60 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘The 24-hour monitoring was very disruptive … uncomfortable doing household tasks, etc. At one stage, I had to drive the car. I couldn’t stop when the time came for a reading, so very stressful.’ (ID173, F, 75 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘You can do pilates class with one [the ambulatory monitor]! Takes thought.’ (ID257, F, 48 years, Anx−, Dep−) BP monitoring disturbs sleep ‘I was pleasantly surprised that the night time [ambulatory] monitoring did not disturb me too much.’ (ID001, F, 59 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘I’m afraid I didn’t last through the night [with the ambulatory monitor]. I found it impossible to sleep, and couldn’t see how BP during a sleepless night could be useful.’ (ID178, F, 64 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘I had to stop using the 24-hour monitor at 3am in the morning, as I found I could not sleep. Every time it activated, I woke up.’ (ID 110, M, 57 years, Anx−, Dep−) |
BP monitoring disturbs work ‘I work as a farm labourer, and found it difficult to work, so I had the day off [to undertake ambulatory monitoring].’ (ID042, M, 61 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘It would have been inappropriate to wear it [the ambulatory monitor] at work, so I had to arrange to wear it on a Saturday.’ (ID148, F, 56 years, Anx+, Dep−) BP monitoring was uncomfortable ‘I didn’t realise how uncomfortable the 24-hour ABPM would be. I managed to cope, but I imagine some older people would feel quite upset by its intrusiveness.’ (ID083, M, 60 years, Anx+, Dep−) “Could someone invent a BP cuff that fits the shape of the arm, and does it need to be so wide? I had trouble with the cuff and monitor. I thought it was the way I used it, but the GP’s staff had the same trouble as I had.’ (ID261, F, 64 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘I can’t see any way the [ambulatory] monitor could be made more comfortable or less disturbing. Anyway, it was only 24 hours.’ (ID214, F, 77 years, Anx−, Dep−) |
BP monitoring made me feel self-conscious — no free-text comments |
I was unsure what to do when BP monitoring ‘Both devices threw up error codes, which I was not able to interpret or correct. This worried me that there was something wrong with my BP and/or pulse.’ (ID287, M, 46 years, Anx−, Dep−) |
There is a lot of waiting around when BP monitoring ‘I am lazy and casual, and find the BP [self] monitoring tedious and uncomfortable, and takes time which might be used for other things.’ (ID214, F, 77 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘I had to stop what I was doing to make sure it [the ambulatory monitor cuff] didn’t slip or twist.’ (ID215, F, 40 years, Anx−, Dep+) Knowing my BP when monitoring worried me ‘The fact that you can see your [self-monitoring] results can in itself be worrying, and I wonder if it would be best if people were only told them later.’ (ID152, M, 60 years, Anx−, Dep+) ‘I found the home monitoring very instructive, and noticed how much difference stress or relaxation made to my blood pressure.’ (ID178, F, 64 years, Anx−, Dep−) “I was not able to see the measurements on it [the ambulatory monitor], as it was impossible to get it out from its pouch in time to read it before it disappeared, or it was too dark to see at night.’ (ID192, F, 70 years, Anx−, Dep−) It was difficult to remember to monitor my BP — no free-text comments |
It is worth the trouble to get accurate readings ‘I would say taking your blood pressure over the longer period was a much more accurate way to get [a] true reading of someone’s blood pressure than the 24-hour part of the trial.’ (ID150, M, 57 years, Anx−, Dep−) ‘The [self] monitor was so user friendly and completely unobtrusive, apart from 15/20 mins am and pm to use it — which is nothing to get results that might save a life!’ (ID051, F, 66 years, Anx n/a, Dep n/a) ‘I find it very reassuring that my blood pressure from home monitoring seems to be much lower than whenever it has been taken at my GP practice — where I always feel anxious. Hopefully, this will have saved the NHS a long-term prescription!’ (ID177, M, 55 years, Anx−, Dep−) |
I felt in control when BP monitoring ‘The [ambulatory] monitor did the job by itself; no question of the wearer being in control.’ (ID214, F, 77 years, Anx−, Dep−) BP monitoring is a good way to save doctor or nurse time — no free-text comments |