Blood Pressure – How to Check

Transcript

If you are taking blood pressure medications, make sure you’ve taken them on that day. Make sure to avoid caffeine, smoking or exercise for at least 30 minutes before you check. Sit down on a comfortable chair or sofa with your arm raised level to your heart. Make sure your legs are straight and not crossed. Wait about three to five minutes, then take your blood pressure. Then do yourself a favor and make sure to write it down. The top number, the bottom number and the pulse. You need to keep an accurate log. As far as timing, you should take it twice a day, once in the morning, once in the evening, but you need to be consistent with your times. So if you take at 10:00 AM on one day, you should take it around 10:00 AM on other days, as blood pressure tends to fluctuate throughout the day.

How often to take your blood pressure. If you’re trying to diagnose yourself with high blood pressure, meaning you’ve never had it before, then I would advise taking it twice a day for seven days straight to get a good idea. If you’ve had a recent change to your blood pressure medications, I would advise taking it twice a day for 14 days straight, to see if that blood pressure medication change is actually working. Now, if you have well-controlled high blood pressure on medications and it’s been stable, then I would advise you taking it twice a day, either on a weekly or monthly basis, just to make sure it’s staying stable and normal. Make sure to bring those readings, that log to your doctor’s office, that will get you the best management of your blood pressure.”””