Are automated blood pressure monitors accurate for measuring blood pressure in patients with atrial fibrillation?
Automated blood pressure monitors are accurate for measuring systolic but not diastolic blood pressure in atrial fibrillation, making them appropriate for home but not office use.
There is limited evidence and significant heterogeneity in the studies that validated automated blood pressure monitors in atrial fibrillation. These monitors appear to be accurate in measuring SBP but not DBP. Given that atrial fibrillation is common in the elderly, in whom systolic hypertension is more common and important than diastolic hypertension, automated monitors appear to be appropriate for self-home but not for office measurement.
Stergiou et al. (Wed,) studied this question.