Checking your blood pressure at home can help your doctor see how well treatment is working and whether readings are consistently elevated outside the office. But accurate numbers require more than pressing a button. A few simple habits make your readings more useful. (newsroom.heart.org)
Follow these steps:
- Choose the right equipment. Use a validated automatic upper-arm monitor with a cuff that fits your arm.
- Prepare first. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, smoking, and exercise for at least 30 minutes beforehand. Empty your bladder.
- Take five quiet minutes. Sit calmly without talking, scrolling, or watching television.
- Get comfortable—and positioned correctly. Support your back, keep both feet flat and legs uncrossed, and rest your arm on a table with the cuff at heart level. Place the cuff on bare skin above the elbow.
- Measure twice. Take two readings one minute apart, record both, and share your log with your clinician. Follow their recommended schedule. (heart.org)
If the top number exceeds 180 or the bottom exceeds 120, repeat after at least one minute if you have no symptoms; contact your clinician immediately if it remains that high. With chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, or trouble speaking, call 911 without waiting to repeat the measurement. (professional.heart.org)
Give your heart five minutes of peace—the news and your inbox can raise a fuss later.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Z, MD, PhD, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon.
