Track your blood pressure at home the right way
A single high blood pressure reading at the doctor’s office can leave you with more questions than answers. Was it the morning rush, last night’s glass of wine, or just nerves? Blood pressure is a sensitive measure, easily influenced by stress, physical activity, and other everyday factors. For many, this makes it hard to know whether a spike reflects a genuine health concern or just a temporary fluctuation. That’s where at-home monitoring can be a
game-changer.
Many doctors encourage people to monitor blood pressure on their own. By tracking your blood pressure regularly in the comfort of your own home, you can get a clearer picture of your health, detect patterns, and even catch potential problems early.
Get your copy of Take Control of Your Blood Pressure
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An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don’t even know they have it because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect
and treat. In the Special Health Report Controlling Your Blood Pressure, find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.
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Home monitoring is especially useful for people with white-coat hypertension or labile hypertension, as well as to track responses to exercise, medications, or changes in treatment. It gives a more accurate idea of your blood pressure. It can help fine-tune the strategy for keeping your blood pressure in check. And it just might make you more invested in controlling a problem that has no symptoms until it spawns a heart attack or stroke, or leads to heart or kidney
failure.
Tips for at-home blood pressure monitoring
- Time it right. When you first start to check your blood pressure at home, measure it early in the morning and again in the evening, every day for a week. If most of the readings fall into the goal numbers recommended by your doctor, you can check your blood pressure two or three times per week. Don’t panic if one reading is high. Keep in mind that your blood pressure changes constantly throughout the day.
- Track it. Many blood pressure meters store a week’s worth of readings, or more. If yours doesn’t, keep a record so you can show your doctor. There are some apps that will do this for you. Some even take the readings directly from the monitor so that you don’t need to write them down.
- Don’t overdo it. Doctors warn, however, that home blood pressure monitoring can become too much of a good thing. Just as getting on the scale several times a day is counterproductive when it comes to losing weight, overly frequent monitoring can create anxiety over small fluctuations without contributing to long-term blood pressure management.
Choosing and using a home blood pressure monitor
There are dozens of home blood pressure monitors on the market, ranging in price from about $50 to $100. For best accuracy and ease of use, buy one with a cuff for the upper arm that automatically inflates and that automatically records the pressure. Models that store readings for a week or two can simplify record-keeping.
Be sure to choose one with the correct cuff size – the inflatable part should completely cover at least 80% of your bare upper arm. (If the cuff is too small, you can get a reading that is too high.) Test it in the store to be sure it’s easy to use. Note that the American Heart Association doesn’t recommend wrist or finger home blood pressure monitors, as they are not as reliable.
For more on getting your blood pressure under control, buy Take Control of Your Blood Pressure, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.
Image: © cheyennezj | GettyImages
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