How to take your blood pressure at home

Teach: How to take your blood pressure at home

What to say

To take your blood pressure at home before work, use a validated upper-arm cuff in the right size, sit quietly for five minutes with your back supported, feet flat and arm resting at heart level, and take two readings a minute apart. Skip coffee, exercise and smoking for 30 minutes first. Log morning and evening readings for a week and bring the log to your doctor.

What to show, in order

1. Use an automatic upper-arm monitor that has been clinically validated, and measure your arm to pick the right cuff size.
2. Empty your bladder, and avoid coffee, exercise and smoking for 30 minutes before.
3. Sit in a chair with your back supported and both feet flat, and rest quietly for five minutes.
4. Put the cuff on bare skin just above the elbow, with your arm resting on a table at heart level.
5. Stay still and silent while it measures.
6. Take a second reading a minute later and write both down with the date and time.
7. Measure at the same times each morning and evening for a week before a doctor's visit.
8. Bring the monitor to an appointment once so the clinic can check it against theirs.

When to stop and call a professional

• A reading of 180 over 120 or higher with chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, weakness, vision changes or trouble speaking: call 911.
• Readings stay at 180 over 120 or above without symptoms after resting and retaking: call your doctor the same day.
• Your readings are regularly high: book an appointment and bring the log.
• This page explains what to watch for; it cannot tell you what is wrong. Only a clinician who examines you can.

The check question

Ask: Where should your arm be during a reading? Answer: Resting on a table at heart level

From EveryManKnows. General information, not professional advice.