An Accurate Description of How to Take Blood Pressure Readings
If your doctor has diagnosed you with hypertension, or high blood pressure, he will probably want you to learn how to take your blood pressure so that you can monitor your numbers regularly on your own. There are a variety of choices available that will allow you to keep a close eye on your blood pressure readings, and respond appropriately to the information that you receive. Often, a hypertension patient will choose to learn how to take blood pressure at home with the aide of a home monitoring system. You can find these home monitors at any pharmacy or drugstore, and they come in a variety of sizes and styles to accommodate anyone's preferences and needs.
Once you have selected a home monitor to use for your own blood pressure needs, you will want to learn how to take your blood pressure as accurately as possible. The best way to do this is to take your monitor into your doctor's office and have a trained professional there show you how to take your blood pressure using your monitor accurately. It is also a good idea to head back to your doctor's office once or twice a year to have your blood pressure monitor calibrated to ensure accuracy all of the time. Once you have learned how to take your blood pressure correctly using your home monitor, you will need to do so on a regular basis, and record your results so that your doctor will have accurate records of your blood pressure history.
Different Types of Monitors
There are many different types of monitors on the market today, and they will all vary in terms of how easy they are to use, how accurate they monitor blood pressure, and how much they cost. Keep in mind that the most expensive monitor at the pharmacy is not necessarily the most accurate, so do not select a monitor by cost alone. Your doctor may have recommendations for you on which monitors are the best, or you can select based on which one looks easiest to use. An aneroid monitor is the traditional type of blood pressure gauge that comes with a band, a bulb to tighten the band and a stethoscope to listen for heartbeats. When you are learning how to take blood pressure using an aneroid monitor, it is important that you are able to hold the stethoscope on your arm properly and hear the heartbeats through it. Aneroid monitors are often the least expensive choice, but are subject to more human error than digital counterparts.
A digital monitor will make it easy to learn how to take blood pressure, since most of the hard work is done by the machine itself. These types of monitors come in arm and wrist styles, but the arm monitors have generally been proven to be the most accurate. Digital monitors tend to run a bit higher in price, but will offer the most accurate readings in home systems. No matter what type of monitor you choose, the key to the most accurate readings will lie in learning how to take blood pressure correctly.
