How to monitor your blood pressure at home |
Hmmcast #136 mp4
On our last vacation I bought us a blood pressure monitor to be able to check our blood pressure at home. We’ve been trying one in the pharmacy inside Fred Meyer and my wife’s blood pressure was a bit on the high side so I wanted to have a way to check it out at home. For under $60 you can purchase an automatic blood pressure monitor for home usage. We bought ours at Target.
Approximately 1 in 4 have high blood pressure [source]. Things we can do to keep blood pressure down include:
- maintain a healthy weight and diet [calculate your body mass index (BMI)]
- exercise
- limit alcohol consumption
- reducing salt and sodium in your diet
- quit smoking
My wife suggested buying bikes to ride on the trail in town together. We still have the stationary bike but it’s not getting nearly enough usage. In the summer time riding bikes seems better than a stationary bike both for scenery and fresh air.
Update 6/28/07 4:23am PST: As my buddy Harold correctly notes in the comments below last night, this Hmmcast does not demonstrate the proper method to check your blood pressure. Sorry, my bad. A confession: that was somewhat intentional in order to force a high blood pressure reading for the video (dramatic license, since I don’t have high blood pressure under the correct blood pressure taking conditions and my wife wasn’t available). The problem is nowhere in the video do I ever say this, so the viewer is left with the assumption that I’m demonstrating the proper method and showing a true reading.
I’m not.
Clearly not one of my brightest ideas ever without any explanation as some viewers might get the idea that this was intended to be a serious instructional video — as Harold did. Being put by me in the “how to” category doesn’t help that much either. Doh! My apologies to anybody that might have been confused.
Seriously, if you want to check your blood pressure correctly you should do the following (and this is paraphrased from the Healthy Living pamphlet that comes with the automatic inflate blood pressure monitor, no messing around):
- be sitting down in a comfortable environment for about 10 minutes before taking the reading. Take deep breaths and slowly let out your breath. If you just smoked a cigarette or drank something with caffeine in it (coffee, soda, etc) then wait 30-35 minutes.
- always check the blood pressure using the same arm
- sit with your legs uncrossed and feet flat on the floor
- wear loose fitting shirt and make sure the cuff is placed over your naked arm, not over clothes
- place your arm flat on the table with your palm facing upward
Additionally, Harold offers some other good suggestions in his comment below.
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I hate to tell you TD, but you did that all wrong… First you wouldn’t want to simply take a machine out of the box and trust it. Ideally you would want to take the machine to someplace you can be sure of getting an accurate reading and compare that to what you get from that machine… The machine might well need to be calibrated. It is important to be sitting.
Wear a short sleeved T-shirt or loose fitting clothing so that the sleeve can be rolled up comfortably. Before taking readings rest for five minutes. You should be sitting down, preferably at a desk or a table, in a quiet place, with your arm resting on a firm surface. It is very important that your arm is supported so that the cuff around the arm is at the same level as your heart. You may need to support your arm with books to make sure it is at the correct height. Ensure that the arm is totally relaxed and not tensed, Try not to move or talk while you are measuring your blood pressure.
Be aware that the blood pressure readings may be 10 to 20 mm Hg different between your right arm and your left arm. For this reason, you may want to use the same arm for every reading. Blood pressure readings also vary throughout the day. They usually are highest in the morning after you wake up and move around, decrease throughout the day, and are lowest in the evening.
Little is ever as simple as it may appear.
Comment by weirdharold — June 27, 2007 @ 11:02 pm PST
Hi Harold - So that’s what I need to do to get you to leave a comment on a Hmmcast (I thought you didn’t watch them?)? Do something back assward? LOL. With the proper reading I don’t have high blood pressure, so I had to conduct a test under the wrong conditions to get that live picture (my wife didn’t want to offer herself up for this Hmmcast).
You’re absolutely correct that I wasn’t in the correct position in the video (a bad idea in retrospect for a video in the “how to” category, and I’ll add an update for other viewers to clarify) and using the wrong form. The video was meant to focus on being able to get these devices inexpensively in discount stores, not be an exhaustive instructional video.
I wasn’t aware you could buy these automatic checkers and curious if others realized this, but I really, really should have demonstrated the proper way to conduct a check. Your point is valid. This isn’t really something to joke around about.
As for calibration, there’s nothing in the instruction manual about the device needing to be calibrated, nor were we told these devices needed calibration. I’ll check with the pharmacist about that.
Lastly, several readings should be taken and the average is what matters, not a single reading.
Comment by TDavid — June 28, 2007 @ 3:48 am PST
I had high BP, but was able to beat it with a combination of diet and exercise. Now I’ve been off medication for more than two years, and I consistently get good numbers. Besides taking my pressure daily, I still see my doctor regularly as a backup check.
Walking or running 2.5 - 3.5 miles per day works best for me for exercise.
For diet, I’ve found the Blood Type Diet (dadamo.com) to be the most effective, but it does require serious attention to what you’re eating.
Comment by Sterling Camden — June 28, 2007 @ 12:46 pm PST
You use one of these automatic blood pressure monitors, Sterling, or opt for the standard one? And if you do use the automatic inflate ones, did you need to get it calibrated like Harold suggested might be a requirement?
Comment by TDavid — June 28, 2007 @ 1:04 pm PST
I use one of the automatic ones, and I did not get it calibrated. But it pretty well matches what the nurse reads. I always take mine first thing in the morning, so I get the worst case.
Comment by Sterling Camden — June 28, 2007 @ 2:01 pm PST
How do I use a digital monitor?
Put the cuff around the arm. Turn the power on, and start the machine.
The cuff will inflate by itself with a push of a button on the automatic models. On the semiautomatic models, the cuff is inflated by squeezing the rubber bulb. After the cuff is inflated, the automatic mechanism will slowly reduce the cuff pressure.
Look at the display window to see your blood pressure reading. The machine will show your systolic and diastolic blood pressures on the screen. Write down your blood pressure, putting the systolic pressure before the diastolic pressure.
Press the exhaust button to release all of the air from the cuff.
If you want to repeat the measurement, wait 2 to 3 minutes before reinflating the cuff.
It is better you take BP twice or thrice with digital monitor to lessen the chances of error.
Comment by Dr. Armughan — June 10, 2008 @ 7:55 am PST