It is important that you cooperate with your physician the accurate diagnosis of your blood pressure. There will be instances however those patients have increased blood pressure when they go for a consultation at the doctor’s office. But as they go on with their lives and activities, they attained a normal blood pressure. This situation is referred to as ‘white coat’ high blood pressure and the other way around refers to ‘masked’ high blood pressure which is acquiring a normal BP when visiting the do ctor and in other situations, it is a high blood pressure when measured.
So what should a normal blood pressure should be? The doctors say that when a blood pressure
measured is above 140/90mm Hg continuously or even a 135/85 mm Hg is actually considered high.
A diabetic person who was measured to have a 130/80mm Hg can be hypertensive. The normal blood
pressure should only be 120/80 mm Hg or lower.
It is significant to have an accurate measure of BP at home so that the results can be diagnosed by your
doctor correctly. You can ask your physician or a pharmacist for any options in selecting a monitor that
can best serve your purpose. Most of the time an automatic is preferred compared to manual for a
After you had purchased the device, coordinate with your physician and let him evaluate that indeed
it provides a correct and appropriate readings. Follow these steps for the most accurate results when
• 30 minutes before taking your BP, if possible do not smoke or take anything caffeinated such as
• If you are in pain or in anger, do not try to take your blood pressure yet, instead, try to cool
down for a couple of minutes.
• Few minutes before taking your measurement, try to sit and relax with feet placed flatly on the
floor and arms on a flat surface too.
• Do not take it when your bladder is full or when you feel you need to go to the bathroom.
• Be quiet and avoid talking during the measurement.
• Take note which arm you used to measure and write down the results.
• Do it twice, with a minute interval.
• Let the doctor evaluate the results.
The measurement has two number parts, the upper one refers to the systolic pressure and the second
one is the bottom part also known as diastolic pressure. When your heart is beating and pumping
the blood on the walls of the arteries, that is known as systolic pressure. Diastolic is the BP between
intervals of the heart that is pumping. The results are measured with the systolic over the diastolic
pressure. You need to understand these numbers for you to accurately measure your BP at home.
Hence you can easily do BP measurements if you get to follow instructions accordingly. It is always best
to ask your physician if you are I doubt of the procedure.