Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure in a familiar setting, make certain your medication is working, and alert you and your doctor to potential health complications. To help ensure accurate blood pressure monitoring at home: - Check your device’s accuracy. Before using a monitor for the first time, have your doctor check its accuracy against the office model. Also have your doctor watch you use the device to see if you’re doing it properly. If you drop the device or damage it, have it checked before using it again.
- Measure your blood pressure twice daily. The first measurement should be in the morning before eating or taking any medications, and the second in the evening. Each time you measure, take two or three readings to make sure your results are accurate. Your doctor might recommend taking your blood pressure at the same times each day.
- Don’t measure your blood pressure right after you wake up. You can prepare for the day, but don’t eat breakfast or take medications before measuring your blood pressure. If you exercise after waking, take your blood pressure before exercising.
- Avoid food, caffeine, tobacco and alcohol for 30 minutes before taking a measurement. Also, go to the toilet first. A full bladder can increase blood pressure slightly.
- Sit quietly before and during monitoring. When you’re ready to take your blood pressure, sit for five minutes in a comfortable position with your legs and ankles uncrossed and your back supported against a chair.
- Try to be calm and not think about stressful things.
- Don’t talk while taking your blood pressure.
- Make sure your arm is positioned properly. Always use the same arm when taking your blood pressure. Rest your arm, raised to the level of your heart, on a table, desk or chair arm. You might need to place a pillow or cushion under your arm to elevate it high enough.
- Place the cuff on bare skin, not over clothing. Rolling up a sleeve until it tightens around your arm can result in an inaccurate reading, so you may need to slip your arm out of the sleeve.
- Take a repeat reading. Wait for one to three minutes after the first reading, and then take another to check accuracy.
- If your monitor doesn’t automatically log blood pressure readings or heart rates, write them down. Blood pressure varies throughout the day, and readings are often a little higher in the morning. Also, your blood pressure might be slightly lower at home than in a medical office, typically by about five points.
- Contact your doctor if you have any unusual or persistent increases in your blood pressure. Ask your doctor what reading should prompt an immediate call to the medical office.
 Check out these visual posters on the same subject: - Measuring Blood Pressure – 7 Tips – by American Heart Association
- Measuring Blood Pressure Accurately – by American Heart Association
Sources:
The Mayo Clinic
American Heart Association, American Stroke Association Contributed by
Linda Vlastuin, RN, MS,
AHF and Alaska Kidney Foundation Kidney Health Educator You don't always have to go to your doctor's office to have your blood pressure checked; you can monitor your own blood pressure at home. This is especially important if your doctor recommends that you monitor your blood pressure on a regular basis. Tips for Checking Your Own Blood PressureThere are certain factors that can cause blood pressure to temporarily rise. For example, blood pressure normally rises as a result of: - Stress
- Smoking
- Cold temperatures
- Exercise
- Caffeine
- Certain medicines
Try to avoid as many of these factors as you can when taking your blood pressure. Also, try to measure your blood pressure at about the same time each day. Your doctor may want you to check your blood pressure several times during the day to see if it fluctuates. Before Checking Your Blood Pressure- Find a quiet place to check your blood pressure. You will need to listen for your heartbeat.
- Make sure that you are comfortable and relaxed with a recently emptied bladder (a full bladder may affect your reading).
- Roll up the sleeve on your arm or remove any tight-sleeved clothing.
- Rest in a chair next to a table for 5 to 10 minutes. Your arm should rest comfortably at heart level. Sit up straight with your back against the chair, legs uncrossed. Rest your forearm on the table with the palm of your hand facing up.
Step-by-Step Blood Pressure CheckIf you purchase a manual or digital blood pressure monitor (sphygmomanometer), follow the instruction booklet carefully. The following steps provide an overview of how to take your left arm blood pressure on either a manual or digital blood pressure monitor. Simply reverse the sides to take a blood pressure in your right arm. 1. Locate your pulse Locate your pulse by lightly pressing your index and middle fingers slightly to the inside center of the bend of your elbow (where the brachial artery is). If you cannot locate your pulse, place the head of the stethoscope (on a manual monitor) or the arm cuff (on a digital monitor) in the same general area. Slide the cuff onto your arm, making sure that the stethoscope head is over the artery (when using a manual monitor.) The cuff may be marked with an arrow to show the location of the stethoscope head. The lower edge of the cuff should be about 1 inch above the bend of your elbow. Use the fabric fastener to make the cuff snug, but not too tight. Place the stethoscope in your ears. Tilt the ear pieces slightly forward to get the best sound. 3. Inflate and deflate the cuff If you are using a manual monitor: - Hold the pressure gauge in your left hand and the bulb in your right.
- Close the airflow valve on the bulb by turning the screw clockwise.
- Inflate the cuff by squeezing the bulb with your right hand. You may hear your pulse in the stethoscope.
- Watch the gauge. Keep inflating the cuff until the gauge reads about 30 points (mm Hg) above your expected systolic pressure. At this point, you should not hear your pulse in the stethoscope.
- Keeping your eyes on the gauge, slowly release the pressure in the cuff by opening the airflow valve counterclockwise. The gauge should fall only 2 to 3 points with each heartbeat. (You may need to practice turning the valve slowly.)
- Listen carefully for the first pulse beat. As soon as you hear it, note the reading on the gauge. This reading is your systolic pressure (the force of the blood against the artery walls as your heart beats).
- Continue to slowly deflate the cuff.
- Listen carefully until the sound disappears. As soon as you can no longer hear your pulse, note the reading on the gauge. This reading is your diastolic pressure (the blood pressure between heartbeats).
- Allow the cuff to completely deflate.
You'll get the most accurate reading if your arm is held straight. If you released the pressure too quickly or could not hear your pulse, DO NOT inflate the cuff again right away. Wait one minute before repeating the measurement. Start by reapplying the cuff. If you are using a digital monitor: - Hold the bulb in your right hand.
- Press the power button. All display symbols should appear briefly, followed by a zero. This indicates that the monitor is ready.
- Inflate the cuff by squeezing the bulb with your right hand. If you have a monitor with automatic cuff inflation, press the start button.
- Watch the gauge. Keep inflating the cuff until the gauge reads about 30 points (mm Hg) above your expected systolic pressure.
- Sit quietly and watch the monitor. Pressure readings will be displayed on the screen. For some devices, values may appear on the left, then on the right.
- Wait for a long beep. This means that the measurement is complete. Note the pressures on the display screen. Systolic pressure (the force of the blood against the artery walls as your heart beats) appears on the left and diastolic pressure (the blood pressure between heartbeats) on the right. Your pulse rate may also be displayed in between or after this reading.
- Allow the cuff to deflate.
If you did not get an accurate reading, DO NOT inflate the cuff again right away. Wait one minute before repeating the measurement. Start by reapplying the cuff. 4. Record your blood pressure. Follow your doctor's instructions on when and how often you should measure your blood pressure. Record the date, time, systolic and diastolic pressures. You should also record any special circumstances like any recent exercise, meal, or stressful event. At least once a year, and especially after you first purchase your blood pressure monitor, bring your monitor with you to your doctor's visit to check the machine’s accuracy. This is done by comparing a blood pressure reading from your machine with one from the doctor's office machine.
Which method of taking blood pressure is most accurate?
Intra-arterial measurement of BP is the most accurate method, capable of giving a continuous picture. Indirect recordings give a rough estimate of intra-arterial pressure but less information about the relationship between individual subjects and their environment.
What time of the day is blood pressure highest?
Blood pressure has a daily pattern. Usually, blood pressure starts to rise a few hours before a person wakes up. It continues to rise during the day, peaking in midday. Blood pressure typically drops in the late afternoon and evening.
Why is the first blood pressure reading always the highest?
Your first blood pressure reading will almost always be higher than the second due to a wide range of factors, both environmental and psychological. These factors include white coat syndrome, stress, and having a full bladder.
How many times should I take my blood pressure to get an accurate reading?
Measure your blood pressure twice daily. The first measurement should be in the morning before eating or taking any medications, and the second in the evening. Each time you measure, take two or three readings to make sure your results are accurate.
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