If you are a patient of Hypertension or High Blood Pressure, you need to check your blood pressure often to monitor and control your BP. A Blood Pressure Monitor is the best device to do that.
Many doctors recommend using Home Blood Pressure Monitoring. It helps to see if the medications that you are taking are working properly and to monitor how your routine and habits affect blood pressure in your daily life.
How many you should use a blood pressure monitor, that is entirely based on your condition. So you can consult with your doctor about that or use your BP monitor twice a day to get the correct results.
Now, many people don’t know how to use a Blood Pressure Monitor correctly. I am here to help you with that. I have already compared Manual and Digital BP Machine in the last article.
Here, you are going to learn how to use a Digital and Manual Blood Pressure Machine. You will also see some points to get the most accurate results.
Table of Contents
Things to do For Accurate Blood Pressure Monitoring
- Take your BP monitor to the doctor’s office and test your blood pressure with the doctor’s BP monitor and your monitor to see if the results are the same. Calibrate the Device once a year to ensure that the Blood Pressure Monitor is giving you accurate results.
- Do not take any Caffeine or Tobacco products 30 minutes before the testing as they can raise your blood pressure.
- Wear loose and comfortable clothes while testing. Do not wear a long sleeve tight shirt because it can put extra pressure on the arm while testing.
- Just sit and relax for 5 minutes before the testing, so your blood pressure gets to normal when you are testing. Do not talk or watch any distraction while resting.
- Use the correct size of the cuff. To know about the right cuff size, click here.
- Do not exercise or do any heavy work before testing.
- Test Your Blood Pressure in a quiet and comfortable environment.
- Take two or three readings and get average readings to get an accurate result.
- Take the Blood Pressure Readings at the same time each day for effective monitoring.
How To Use Manual Or Aneroid BP Monitor
- Sit comfortably on a chair with your back supported.
- Keep your feet on the ground uncrossed.
- Keep your arm supported on a hard and even surface at the same height as your heart. Keep your palm facing up.
- Place the cuff around your upper arm. The lower side of the cuff should be 1 inch above the elbow bend. If you are wearing a long sleeve shirt, then you need to roll up your sleeves to get more accurate results. Don’t make it too tight. You should be able to put your two fingers in the cuff.
- Put the stethoscope on the brachial artery and keep the gauge in front of you.
- Start to inflate the cuff rapidly using the bulb. Inflate it to 30-40 mmHg above your normal Systolic Blood Pressure. If you don’t know your normal Systolic rate, you can inflate the cuff to 180 mmHg, or you could ask your doctor.
- Now, start to slowly Deflate the Cuff at 2-3 mm per second, rotating the knob on the bulb counterclockwise. Don’t release the air too fast, or you won’t be able to get the systolic rate accurately.
- Listen carefully through the Stethoscope. The first sound coming from the artery is your Systolic blood pressure, record it as soon as you hear it.
- When you hear the sound stops coming from your artery, record your Diastolic Blood pressure. To note your Blood pressure First, write your Systolic Blood pressure and then Diastolic pressure. If your Systolic Pressure is 120 and Diastolic pressure is 80, then your Blood Pressure will be 120/80.
- Release the whole pressure from your cuff. Take some rest for one minute and then take the test once more to get accurate readings.
How to Use Digital BP Monitor
- Sit comfortably with your back supported and your legs uncrossed and placed on the floor.
- Keep your arm supported on the table at the same height as your heart.
- Roll up your sleeves and place the cuff around your upper arm.
- Press the start button.
- If you have an auto inflatable cuff, it will inflate to the correct point. If you have a manually inflatable cuff, You need to inflate it to 30-40 mmHg above your normal Systolic Blood Pressure.
- The cuff will automatically deflate, and your Systolic and diastolic pressure will be shown on your BP Monitor’s display.
- Note the Readings using the same method shown above in point 9.
- Release all the air from the cuff. Rest for some minute and take another reading for an accurate result.
Don’t have a Monitor? You can find the best BP Machine for you.
Things That Affect Blood Pressure Readings
- If your Blood Pressure Monitor is not calibrated correctly, it won’t give the right result.
- If you have Masked Hypertension, you won’t get correct results in an only home environment.
- If you have Stress or Anxiety during the BP testing, it can affect the actual results to 30 mmHg and give you false readings.
- If you place the cuff over clothing, it won’t be able to put enough pressure on your arm, and the result won’t be much accurate either.
- If the Cuff’s size is too small and big, it can not take correct readings.
- Smoke, alcohol, and other tobacco products can raise your Blood Pressure for some time.
- Drinking caffeine before 30 minutes of your blood pressure testing can alter the accurate results.
- If your arm is not supported or is not at the same level as your heart, the results will not be accurate.
- If you are feeling any pain or cold, or if you have a full bladder, it can alter the results.
- If your back is not supported or the feet are crossed, then it can raise the blood pressure.
To Conclude
A blood pressure monitor is an effective tool in HBPM, and knowing how to use it properly is going to help you in significant ways.
You should monitor your blood pressure regularly to keep an eye on your hypertension and possibly cardiovascular disease. It helps with the control of high blood pressure.
Stay away from the things that cause fluctuating your blood pressure and keep up the medication to get control over Hypertension.
Let me know if this article was helpful.
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