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Taking your blood pressure can help diagnose a problem that could increase your risk of stroke and heart attack. But if you take the reading yourself at the drug store or the mall, you might not get an accurate result, U.S. officials warn. That’s because the cuff might be the wrong size for you. Doctors can choose from many cuff sizes to get an accurate reading. But many public blood pressure machines have only one cuff. If the cuff is too small, the blood pressure reading may be too high, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. If it’s too big for you, the reading may be too low. Or maybe the machine won’t work at all. It may help to know the size of your upper arm so you can see if the kiosk’s cuff is the right size for you. The FDA said it’s important to remember that a diagnosis of high blood pressure is not based on just one reading.

A type of pacemaker can help more women with heart failure than men, and yet women are less likely to get the devices, a study finds. Researchers pooled results from 3 earlier studies. They included 3,198 men and 878 women. Normally, both sides of the heart beat (contract) at the same time. Among people in the study, one side of the heart contracted slightly later than the other. The original studies were designed to test pacemakers that help both sides beat at the same time. Success was measured by a reduction in the risk of death or fewer heart-failure events that required a hospital trip or more medicine. Women with the devices had a 60% reduced risk of these events. Men’s risk declined 26%. The study also raised questions about who should get these devices.