Blood Pressure Monitors - Tips on How to Use Them Correctly

If you are using a blood pressure monitor at home, do you
know how to use it to obtain consistently accurate readings?

Most pharmacies and medical supply stores sites have home
blood pressure monitors in two model types, manual or
digital. All monitors have the same basic components, an
inflatable cuff or strap, a gauge for readouts and
sometimes a stethoscope, depending on the model.

The cuff consists of an inner layer made of rubber that
fills with air and squeezes your arm. This cuff's outer
layer is generally made of nylon and has a fastener to hold
it in place. The gauges on monitors are either digital or
aneroid. The aneroid monitors have a gauge with a dial on
it that points at a number related to your blood pressure.

A manual blood pressure monitor consists of a stethoscope
and an inflatable arm cuff connected by a rubber tube to a
gauge that records the pressure. To use these cuff, you
inflate the cuff that goes around your arm by pumping a
bulb at one end of the tube. You listen for certain
benchmark arterial blood sounds your blood makes as it
flows through the brachial artery in the crook of your
elbow and count your own heart rate.

However, without proper training, it is difficult to
interpret those sounds. Digital blood pressure cuffs
usually have a built-in sensor that records the information
for you.

A digital monitor consists of a cuff and a gauge that
records the pressure. These devices automatically calculate
heart rate and measure your blood pressure. Some even give
you an error message if you are not wearing the cuff
properly. Digital monitors also deflate automatically.
Although you can get a digital cuff for your finger or
wrist, the one that fits on the upper arm is slightly more
accurate

No matter what type of home blood pressure monitor you
choose, proper use requires some practice and training.
Take the device to your doctor or nurse or find a class at
your local medical facility and learn how to use the
monitor accurately and keep it calibrated.

Here are some tips for using a monitor:

Have your doctor or nurse observe how you use the device so
that he or she can see if you are doing it properly

Take your blood pressure at consistent times, such as in
the morning and in the evening.

Use the same arm whenever you take your blood pressure.
Note that many digital monitors are meant for use only on
the left arm.

Don't measure your blood pressure immediately after you
wake in the morning. Wait an hour or so. If you exercise
after waking, take your blood pressure before exercising.

Avoid food, caffeine, tobacco and alcohol for thirty
minutes before taking a measurement.

Go to the restroom first. A full bladder can increase blood
pressure slightly.

Sit quietly for three to five minutes before a measurement.

Sit in a comfortable position with legs and ankles
uncrossed and your back supported.

Rest your arm, raised to the level of your heart, on a
table, desk or chair arm.

Don't talk while taking your blood pressure.

Place the cuff on bare skin, not over clothing.

Take a repeat reading two to three minutes after the first
one to check accuracy.

If you have a manual monitor, log blood pressure readings
or heart rates in a log book.

Take the monitor to be calibrated annually.

Blood pressure varies throughout the day and is often a
little higher in the morning. Contact your doctor if you
have any unusual or persistent increases in your pressure.
If you experience symptoms such as severe headache, chest
pain, numbness or tingling in the face or limbs seek
emergency medical treatment immediately.

If your blood pressure is well controlled, you may need
only check it at home a few days a month but remember that
home monitoring is not a substitute for visits to your
doctor.


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preventing hypertension, the "silent killer", and how to
monitor your blood pressure and living with hypertension on
a daily basis. ==> http://www.monitor-blood-pressure.com