Health care professionals don’t get regular blood pressure training

A new survey from the American Heart Association and the American Medical Association finds that despite recommendations to receive regular training for monitoring blood pressure, health providers don’t get that instruction. Here’s more: 

• The context: The AHA and AMA in 2017 released new guidelines for measuring and treating BP, as well as for setting goals for those with high BP. 
• The findings: About half of health care providers said they hadn’t been retrained to measure BP after leaving professional school. A third of nurses said the same. At the same time, more than half said a refresher on BP measurements ought to be required. 
• The takeaway: AMA and AHA developed a new e-module to help health professionals regularly receive training. The tool is being tested in conjunction with four other institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania.