Tips For Checking Your Blood Pressure At Home

A good number of people suffer from high blood pressure. Thankfully, there are things we can do to help with blood pressure when it is out of control. We also have technology and equipment at our fingertips that allow us to monitor our blood pressure from home.

Getting an accurate reading at home can sometimes be challenging. We’ve put together a few tips to help you get the most accurate reading possible when you’re taking your own blood pressure at home.

Avoid Measuring Under Stress/Duress

Stress is something that can cause your blood pressure to rise quickly. Whether you’re angry and irritated or perhaps something stressful has you a bit worked up, it’s best not to test when you’re feeling stressed or under duress as this probably won’t be an accurate reading.

In these cases, you’re sure to have a higher level than your typical numbers.
If you find that you can never find a good time that you aren’t worked up or stressed, it might be time to consider retiring. We hear Florida is quite nice! Ha

Take More Than Once a Day

It’s a good idea to take your blood pressure more than once a day to get accurate readings. This can help to determine if there is something in your day that perhaps triggers a change or whether it’s particularly high at a certain point in your daily routine.

We recommend using a morning approach for the first time. Don’t measure right after you wake up but be sure to measure before you take any medications. Then, you can use the evening time for your next readings. Don’t be afraid to read it 2-3 times at each of these timeframes for an accurate reading.

Quality Equipment

It is important to be sure that you have quality equipment for reading your blood pressure. If your equipment is not reliably accurate, then your readings won’t be either. Medical sites like sensoronics.com have medically-approved equipment for this purpose and many other things as well.

You can have your device checked for accuracy as well. Maybe take it to your doctor with you and check your equipment against their medical equipment to see if they are close and be sure you are using it properly.

Positioning

There are many small things that can add to your blood pressure. Even sitting wrong can make a difference. Here are some vital points for positioning that will help you get an accurate reading of your blood pressure as well.

• Do not take your blood pressure with a full bladder
• Try to avoid caffeine, alcohol, food, and tobacco within 30 minutes of taking a reading
• Don’t chat right before or during taking your blood pressure
• Use the same arm every time. Try to elevate that arm to a level that is similar in height to your heart at the time of the reading
• Always place a blood pressure cuff on your bare skin or only over light clothing layers

These are simple things you can do and each of them will make a difference in your reading to help you get a more accurate blood pressure reading at home.

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