Diagnosed With High Blood Pressure? Monitor Your Hypertension At Home

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, or hypertension, it would be convenient for you to have your own blood pressure monitor at home. You can always go to Walgreens or Sam’s Club, or other pharmacies that have the sit down automatic blood pressure machines available to customers who want to check their own blood pressure. These are usually fairly accurate, but your blood pressure may be slightly elevated than it would be if you were checking it at home.

Think about it — you’re out shopping, driving around, dealing with traffic, trying to find things in the store, and then waiting patiently to check out (many times not). Your blood pressure is bound to be a little high, and yes, it is normal for it to fluctuate throughout the day. But stress has a significant effect on blood pressure, which is why you might be better having your own blood pressure monitor at home to check it at times when you are not influenced by the rat race going on in the world outside your home.

There are many different types of blood pressure monitors available for home use, and can be purchased in most pharmacies and online sites. Prices vary also, starting as low as $25 and keep going up to $300 and more, depending on the features of the unit, and whether it is electric, battery operated, or manual. Blood pressure monitors come in different styles that can test using the finger, wrist, or arm. Some of them inflate automatically and others must be pumped up manually with the attached bulb. Larger sized cuffs are also available if needed, and most if not all blood pressure monitors will tell the individual their pulse as well as blood pressure reading.

To go just a bit further, some blood pressure monitors will also tell the user if they have an irregular heartbeat, if a low or high reading is detected, and some will give you the average of three readings. Most blood pressure monitors also come with a carrying case, batteries, and forms to record your readings. More expensive models have more features, more than one size cuff, extra bulbs, and just about extra everything.

All these bells and whistles are really not necessary, and just a basic unit from Walgreens for $35 will serve your purpose just fine. Whatever you decide to do, a home blood pressure monitor could be a real life saver. After all, that’s why they call hypertension the silent killer.

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Written by John Walker on December 10th, 2009 with 2 comments.
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