Tips For The Home Use Of Blood Pressure Monitors
Checking your blood pressure from home is easier to do nowadays, because the blood pressure monitoring devices are more user friendly. Tracking your blood pressure is important if you suffer from health problems, like high blood pressure or heart disease. Luckily, blood pressure monitors for home use are not particularly expensive and the manual models are even cheaper to purchase than the digital ones.
It is of utmost importance to ensure that the cuff fits your arm. This can especially be a problem for those with particularly small or large arms, since the readings given by the blood pressure monitor might not be accurate. People with large arms need to buy an extra large cuff size and for children you need a pediatric or extra small cuff.
It is also important that you take care of your monitor so that it doesn’t get damaged. One way to do so is to keep it in a protective case whenever you are not using it. Blood pressure monitors also shouldn’t be exposed to extreme heat so you can not just leave it in a car on hot days. If you do drop your monitor, then you have to make sure that no damage was done by checking its accuracy. The cuff and tubing also need to be examined for cracks or leaks before you use your monitor. These devices are also not waterproof and so take care that it does not get submerged.
As a general rule you will be recording the resting blood pressure. The only exception would be if your doctor tells you to do something else. The reason for this is that stress and activities elevate your blood pressure and if you need to keep track of the readings, then the same conditions have to be ensured for each reading. You also should not smoke, eat or exercise a half hour before it is time to take the blood pressure reading. The best way to get good readings is to sit comfortably with your feet on the floor.
When using digital blood pressure monitors, it is important to sit still while the unit is in operation. If you move around during testing, the results might not be accurate. Using a cell phone while taking your blood pressure might cause an inaccurate reading with digital blood pressure monitors also.
If you at any time notice the readings from the monitor are strange, then you will have to repeat the test after a few minutes. That also means that the cuff will have to be removed and once you are about to redo the test, the cuff has to be put on again.
All blood pressure monitors should be checked periodically for accuracy. The best way to do that is to take your blood pressure monitor with you to the doctor’s office so your doctor can take your blood pressure with his equipment and yours at the same time so you can compare results.
Consistency is the key to tracking your blood pressure. Your blood pressure rises and falls as you go about your day. It might be difficult to spot a pattern if your blood pressure is elevated because you just walked up a flight of stairs as opposed to being elevated at rest. Therefore take your blood pressure in a consistent manner at the same time each day.
There are some blood pressure monitors that allow you to save your results. However, keeping a journal of your readings can still be helpful. This is because you can then add relevant information, such as notes on your health when the reading was taken and if you were relaxed or not. The more information you can provide your doctor, the better your diagnosis and treatment will be.
Related posts:
- Using Blood Pressure Monitors At Home Checking your blood pressure from home is easier to do nowadays, because the blood pressure monitoring devices are more user friendly. Tracking your blood pressure is important if you suffer from health problems, like high blood pressure or heart disease. Luckily, blood pressure monitors for home use are not particularly expensive and the manual models are even cheaper to purchase than the digital ones....
- Blood Pressure Monitors – Tips For Home Use People suffering from high blood pressure or some other kind of heart disease could benefit from being able to keep track of your blood pressure without having to go to the doctor. This is now possible because home blood pressure monitoring devices are now user friendly and the cost for them is reasonable, especially the manual kinds....
- Types Of Blood Pressure Monitors Your doctor for one reason or another may want to monitor your blood pressure. This could be for a number of reasons, such as for example, high blood pressure or one of the other related medical conditions. To do this there are several kinds of blood pressure monitors available for you to purchase, but the price and accuracy can vary from one model to another....
- Different Types Of Blood Pressure Monitors It may become necessary to have to monitor your blood pressure from home. This could be due to high blood pressure or other medical conditions. This is actually easily done if you purchase a home monitor, but there are different kinds to choose from and they are different in regards to price and accuracy....
- Omron Blood Pressure Cuff: An Easy Solution For Home If you'd like to track your blood pressure at home, there's a safe, easy and cost-effective way to do it. Using an automatically inflating blood pressure cuff from Omron will get the job done quickly and comfortably without having to go to the doctor or pharmacy....
Written by Jack Douglas on October 9th, 2009 with
no comments.
Read more articles on Hypertension.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article