How Long After Checking Blood Pressure Should You Wait to Check Again

How to measure your claret pressure at habitation.

Welcome to our home monitoring resource hub.

Here you lot tin can find resources for home monitoring, see our simple steps to get an accurate reading and brand the most out of home monitoring.

Plus, read more about why home monitoring can exist helpful and how to choose a monitor.

The first step to managing your blood force per unit area is to Know Your Numbers! Lookout our video to see how to mensurate your claret pressure at habitation and utilize our tips and resource beneath to check your own blood pressure level at home.

Domicile claret pressure monitoring resources

Download our Checking your claret pressure level at home [PDF 113KB] poster and our Guidelines for dwelling house blood force per unit area testing [PDF 44KB] to print and keep at home as a guide.

You can also download our 'Measuring your blood pressure level at home' leaflet at the end of the page. This A5 booklet provides clear instructions on how to measure out blood pressure level at home. It covers how to choose an accurate monitor, how to use the machine correctly at home and when to measure.

Before yous measure out your blood pressure

• Avoid things that can raise your blood pressure in the short term. Don't measure out your blood pressure inside half an hour of eating, smoking, drinking caffeinated drinks such equally coffee, or exercising. These can all raise your blood pressure temporarily. If y'all demand to apply the toilet, go earlier you measure your blood pressure level.
• Article of clothing loose-plumbing equipment clothes. Wearable a curt-sleeved t-shirt or something with sleeves you can push upward easily, nothing tight. This is and then that yous can fit the gage around your arm.
• Rest for five minutes earlier you take your reading. Sit down down somewhere quiet, ideally at a desk or table. Have your back supported with your arm resting on a firm surface and your feet flat on the floor. Stay in this position while you accept your blood pressure.
• Make sure your arm is supported and at the same level as your center. Position yourself then that your arm is resting on a surface and is at the aforementioned tiptop as your heart. Proceed your arm and manus relaxed, not tensed.
• Make sure yous are relaxed and comfortable. If you are anxious or uncomfortable, your blood pressure will rise temporarily.

How to measure your blood pressure at home using a abode monitor

1. Follow the instructions that came with your monitor. Make sure you lot place the gage effectually your arm as described in the instructions.
2. Place the arm cuff simply above your elbow. The cuff should be nigh 2cm above your elbow to make certain information technology can observe the artery in your arm, merely nether the skin.
3. Go on still and quiet while you accept your reading. Moving, chewing, talking and laughing tin touch your reading. Make sure you don't cross your legs, as this will raise your reading too.
4. Take two or 3 readings, each virtually i to ii minutes apart. If your starting time reading is much higher than the next, ignore it and have an actress reading. Once you accept two to three readings, you tin can piece of work out the average.
5. Keep a record of your measurements. Record all your readings in the memory of your monitor, on your figurer or phone or on paper – whichever y'all prefer. Write them down exactly every bit they appear on screen.

Tips for measuring your blood pressure level at home

• Measure out your blood pressure in both arms when you beginning get-go. They will requite slightly different readings. From then on, utilise the arm that gave y'all the higher reading each time.
• Always use the same arm. If possible, use the arm that your doctor or nurse uses when they measure your blood pressure level.
• Take readings at the same time each mean solar day. For instance, commencement thing in the morning time or last thing at night. Your blood pressure tin can vary throughout the day and with different activities, and then this will hateful you're comparing like with similar. It'south good to have a routine – like measuring your claret pressure before breakfast.
• Don't round your measurements up or down. Tape your readings as they're displayed because it could affect the treatment you're prescribed.
• Don't worry if you lot become an unexpected high reading. A one-off loftier reading is usually nothing to worry about, residual for 5 minutes and take the reading once again. If information technology's still high, measure your blood pressure once again another day. If it remains high for long, effectually two or 3 weeks, see your doctor or nurse.
• Don't worry about pocket-size changes. It's normal for in that location to be small-scale changes in your blood pressure level.
• Don't check your claret pressure besides often. Some people observe that they go worried or stressed near small changes in their readings if they accept them too often. Worrying tin also raise your claret pressure in the brusque term, making your reading college than it should exist.
• Don't stop taking your medications if your blood pressure falls. Always talk to your doctor before stopping your medications, even if your blood pressure has fallen to a healthy level according to your home monitor.
• Speak to your dr. or nurse if y'all're worried. If you take doubts or concerns about your readings or dwelling house monitoring, speak to your doctor or nurse, or call out healthcare squad on 020 7882 6218. If you recall you may exist having a stroke or heart assail call 999 immediately.

How often should you measure your claret pressure level?

When and how frequently you have your readings volition depend on your blood pressure. Speak to your doc or nurse about what's suitable for you.

It tin can be useful to monitor your blood pressure closely to brainstorm with, so less often but at regular intervals.

When y'all outset start using your habitation monitor

When you commencement starting time using a home monitor, measure your blood pressure in the morning and evening, every twenty-four hours for a week.

Take 3 readings in the morning, 1 to two minutes apart, and the same again in the evening, and record all the readings. Take an boilerplate of the readings, but discard the first one if it'due south much college than the others. To take an average simply add the two readings together and divide by two. Carve up by iii if yous use all three readings.

Ignore the first day's readings altogether, because they might not be accurate as you're non familiar with your monitor yet.

At the finish of the calendar week you will take a useful picture of what your claret force per unit area is normally like.

Your dr. might ask you to keep a record like this when they beginning remember you might have high blood pressure and would like to know more before making a diagnosis.

After the first week

Once you have a tape of your blood pressure over a week, you can take readings less often – one time every i to two weeks perhaps. Your doctor or nurse can talk to y'all about this, in that location's no need to measure it too oft.

If your blood pressure has been stable for a long time, y'all might just need to measure out information technology once every four to 6 months. Your physician or nurse will be able to suggest you.

There might be times when you lot desire to mensurate your blood pressure level more ofttimes. For instance, if you are given a new medicine or a higher dose of medicine, to see if the change is having an effect. Information technology's also helpful to tape your numbers for four to vii days earlier a clinic visit so you can prove your doctor.

Keeping a record

Keeping a record will assistance you and your doctor to see how your blood pressure is responding to treatments and lifestyle changes, and if you need a change in your treatment. Take your record along with you to your appointments.

Y'all tin can record your readings in the retentiveness of your monitor, on your estimator or telephone or on paper – whichever you prefer. If you share your monitor with someone else go along a tape elsewhere so that your readings don't go dislocated.

Information technology's helpful to keep a diary of your blood pressure readings. Write downwardly all your readings, even the ones you don't include in the average. Ideally write down the fourth dimension and date, and the time you took your blood pressure medications. It's besides helpful to annotation annihilation that might have afflicted your blood pressure, for example changes in treatment, episodes of disease, symptoms you have at the time such equally headaches or feeling light-headed.

You can likewise download our handy Eastward-record card [PDF 38KB] beneath for you to record your blood pressure numbers on. Utilise our blood pressure nautical chart to meet what your numbers mean, and follow our guidelines for home blood pressure level testing to meet what action you lot should take.

Working with your doctor or nurse

You won't usually brand a conclusion almost treatment based solely on the readings you lot have taken at dwelling house. But they may observe information technology useful to know what you're blood pressure is like when yous're away from the dispensary.

Talk to your medico or nurse before yous start to measure out your blood pressure at home. They advise you on when to measure out your blood pressure and how often, and this can help yous both to be clear most what you are doing and why.

Bring your records with you to your appointments so they tin can use it to review your handling.

Make sure your monitor is suitable and y'all know how to apply it

It is a good idea to bring your monitor to the appointment so that your doc or nurse can check that it is validated and accurate, that information technology fits properly, and that you know how to apply it. They tin evidence you if y'all're not sure.

Read more

Acquire more than virtually your claret force per unit area, what blood pressure readings hateful, and how to lower your claret force per unit area.

For further information on dwelling house monitoring, download our booklet, Measuring your BP at home [PDF 194KB].

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Source: https://www.bloodpressureuk.org/your-blood-pressure/how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure/monitoring-your-blood-pressure-at-home/how-to-measure-your-blood-pressure-at-home/

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