Tips For Checking Your Blood Pressure at Home
With all of the ways that you can check your own health, there are some things that you may forget about. Did you know that you can test your own blood pressure at home? It’s actually surprisingly easy, and all it requires is a few minutes of your time each day to do. Here are some tips for checking your blood pressure at home with this quick and easy method.
First, before we get started, a word about measuring your blood pressure at home. There are a variety of different devices that are available for doing this. Many of these are manual and require you to basically put them on your arm, or grip them around your wrist. While these devices are easy to use, they do not give you a true picture of your blood pressure. This is because they do not take into consideration the many variations in pressure that can occur from your blood pressure as you sleep, such as while exercising or standing up.
What you need to do, then, is to use an electronic monitoring device. These are much more accurate than the old style hand-held monitors that were used a few years back. You simply strap the device to your arm, and read it’s computer display. These monitors come with several different settings that you can change depending on your personal readings. They are quite affordable, too, especially compared to buying an expensive blood pressure monitor.
One of the best tips for checking your blood pressure at home is to use a monitor that does not rely on the level of pressure that you are currently holding. Often, an automatic monitor will actually read higher than what you may think. This could mean that your pressure is actually lower than it should be! Make sure that the monitor that you are using is properly tested, so that you don’t have to worry about this happening.
Another thing that you can do to check your blood pressure at home is to learn to read blood pressure from the wrist. These devices are portable and can easily be placed just about anywhere that you might need to monitor your blood pressure. In fact, many people choose to use these at home when they are away from home for work purposes, or traveling. A portable monitor is much easier to use, and they are less likely to miss an elevated reading.
One of the most important tips for checking your blood pressure at home is to make sure that you keep your arm elevated. If you are sitting down, make sure that your monitor is not resting on your lap. If you are laying down, make sure that you are not directly over your heart. This can cause an inaccurate reading. Use a blood pressure cuff to elevate your arm, and make sure that it is comfortably out of the way.
To confirm your home monitoring system, have someone record your pressure each time you check it. This can be done by taking your blood pressure with a bathroom handgrip and then mailing it to your home care provider. Make sure that the recorder you are using has a display that clearly shows your reading. It should also have a number on it that can be easily read. If your blood pressure drops below the normal range, call your doctor immediately.
Checking your blood pressure at home is an essential part of keeping yourself healthy. You should be doing this regularly, and you should be checking at least one pressure monitor per day. Make sure that you are not leaving any equipment at home that could potentially be dangerous. Also, keep an eye on your hypertension if you see a significant change in the way that you are handling stress or other factors that could be responsible for it.