High blood pressure drastically affects our daily life. It disturbs the way of our life, and it can be dangerous.
Home Blood pressure Monitoring is an effective tool in Blood Pressure control. It gives the information that you need to get the proper medication for you.
A BP monitor at home can help you understand some crucial things about your health that you can use to get better.
Now, is it worth Buying a Blood Pressure Monitor? Read this article and decide for yourself.
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
You must monitor your Blood Pressure by your self along with the regular clinical check-up. It is essential to know what effects does your daily lifestyle has on your health.
Self-monitoring helps you predict cardiovascular disease and improves your knowledge about yourself.
There are things like Whitecoat Hypertension that can alter your Blood Pressure readings in a clinical environment.
According to a journal by the American Heart Association(AHA), medication compliance amongst patients has improved because of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring.
Read more about Blood Pressure Monitors.
Advantages of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
Predicting The Cardiovascular and Stroke Morbidity
Studies have shown that HBPM is more effective in predicting CV disease and stroke than hospital monitoring. This is the best advantage of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring.
It can help your doctor understanding your situation better and stopping the other effects caused by High Blood pressure.
You could take the necessary steps to stop the Cardiovascular Disease from even happening.
Self-awareness
It will tell you how your daily routine can affect your BP. Self-awareness is essential in managing and controlling Blood Pressure.
It allows you to understand your condition and Blood Pressure management better.
By knowing the effects, you can make changes in your life, and you can understand how your blood pressure reacts to your habits and what of your actions can improve or endanger your health.
It will help you in knowing what you should and should not do to control your Blood Pressure and get better.
You can see for yourself if the medicines you are taking are working or not. If the medicines are not working correctly or if they are not affecting your high blood pressure regularly, then you can talk to your doctor and change your prescription.
Compare results
Checking Your Blood Pressure in-home and clinical environment sometimes gives a different result because of white coat hypertension and masked hypertension, which can affect your results.
You can check your Blood Pressure at home and see if the results are the same as the clinical check-up or if checking in a home environment causes a different result.
It will help you in knowing your real Blood pressure; I mean the blood pressure you have when you are in a typical environment or when you are feeling relaxed.
You can show the doctor the results, and it will help your doctor determine the proper medication plan for you.
Cost and Time Effective
Now you may think that buying a BP meter is going to cost you some money; maybe it will, but in the long term, you will be saving a lot of money.
Let me explain;
You need to check your Blood pressure regularly now; if you go to a clinic every time, it is going to cost you money and your time. The time you could be working. The money that should be spent on your medication will all go to the clinics.
You have to buy a BP monitor one time, and then you can save the visits to the clinic and spent that money on your medication.
I am not saying that you should not go to the clinics for a check-up, you should. But if you need to or you want to check your blood pressure more often, then buying a BP monitor is the best choice.
It is helpful in remote monitoring by various doctors so you can get different opinions on your condition. It helps with your knowledge of your Blood pressure management.
Compliance with the Medication
Many studies have proved that Medication compliance improves by Home Blood Pressure Monitoring.
It is a hypothesis that with the HBPM, patients can understand their BP results and the effects of the medicine on their health; this makes them feel more responsible for their medication.
Being more responsible for your health and medication can help with BP control.
Keeping a Journal
If you check your blood pressure only in clinics, it going to tell your blood pressure at that particular time. It is not enough to know the effects of the medicine.
Self-monitoring can help you with keeping a record of your blood pressure readings. You can check how much your blood fluctuated between a period.
By keeping a journal, you can see how and which of your actions affect the improvements over time. You can check at what time your blood pressure was normal or at what time it wasn’t.
It will save your doctor sometime, and it will give him an idea about your blood pressure fluctuations and how to control them. It will surely help in making a medication plan for you.
Now you know about why do you need a BP Monitor Now let’s see
Things to look Before buying a BP monitor
Validated BP Monitors
Your Blood pressure monitor should be validated by the right agency in your country.
Some fake meters in the market don’t meet the regulations for an ideal BP monitor. You should be aware of the fake brands as they can give you false results, which is not good for your health.
Find the one that is right for you and your health.
Cuff Size and Inflation Method
Find a BP meter that has an automatic inflatable cuff that will make it easy for you to check your Blood Pressure.
Always look for the Meter that has a cuff that you can place around the upper arm. Readings from the finger and wriest can be less accurate.
Always find a Blood Pressure monitor that’s cuff fits your arm perfectly. A loosen cuff can give you inaccurate results. The cuff should be 20% wider than your arm. Recommendations for the cuff size from the American Heart Association are
- For arm circumference of 22 to 26 cm, the cuff should be “small adult” size: 12×22 cm
- For arm circumference of 27 to 34 cm, the cuff should be “adult” size: 16×30 cm
- For arm circumference of 35 to 44 cm, the cuff should be “large adult” size: 16×36 cm
- For arm circumference of 45 to 52 cm, the cuff should be “adult thigh” size: 16×42 cm
Digital Blood Pressure Monitor
Doctors recommend a digital BP meter that has an automatic inflatable cuff. Digital BP meters are easy to use; you don’t need any training to use it.
Readings on a digital screen are easy to read and understand.
Manual Monitors can be very hard to use; that is why trained practitioners only use them.
Cost
If you buy an expensive blood pressure monitor, it is only going to put some extra weight on your pockets. Your BP monitor should be less costly but not very cheap.
Cheap Blood Pressure monitors can give inaccurate results, and that is not good.
So you can buy a BP meter that is in your budget and doesn’t interfere with the cost of your medication plan.
Accuracy
You should find a BP monitor that gives accurate results. The inaccurate meter can be very dangerous for your health.
If your Blood Pressure monitor’s systolic reading is within 10 points of your clinical result, then it is accurate. Always make sure to check.
Your BP management is based on your BP readings. Medication based on wrong readings can worsen your condition.
Note- You should consult your doctor Before Buying a BP monitor or making a change in your routine.
Is It Worth Buying a BP Monitor?
Yes, I think it does, and I know that you do too.
Some people think that self-monitoring their Blood Pressure makes them in control of their condition. I believe that is true; the primary aspect of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring is taking control of the disease to yourself. BP Monitor can help you with that.
A BP Meter is a very important device that should have at your home. This article Best Blood Pressure Machines will help you to find a suitable device for you.
very interesting, good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog. Keep up the good work🙂
Thank you