Q. You have written about blood pressure measurement, so I thought I’d share my experience. I recently went to my doctor and, as usual, my blood pressure was taken incorrectly.

The tech used my right arm hanging down at my side, asking questions the whole time. In addition, the cuff was on my arm within 30 seconds of entering the exam room and the cuff was blown up too hard. I told her she should use my left arm and support it at the level of my heart. She was obviously miffed and said it didn’t matter.

When my doctor came in, she assured me we’d check it again. That check, at the end of the visit, was done correctly. The result was a nearly 40-point drop in systolic and about 15 points in diastolic readings. Technique makes a huge difference. If my doctor had considered only the tech’s

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