Check it twice It's ideal to measure your blood pressure twice a day for two weeks leading up to a doctor's appointment, or following a change in medication. At each sitting, measure your blood pressure three times, but discard the first reading as it tends to be inaccurate.
How often should you check? At first, take your blood pressure twice a day for a week. The best times are early in the morning (before you have taken any blood pressure medications) and again in the evening. After you've done this for a week, once or twice a month—or whatever your doctor recommends—is fine.
Take your blood pressure at the same time every day. Take at least two readings, 1 or 2 minutes apart.
Your first blood pressure reading will almost always be higher than the second due to a wide range of factors, both environmental and psychological. These factors include white coat syndrome, stress, and having a full bladder.
Measure your blood pressure twice a day, ideally in the morning and the evening, while you're sitting down. Each time take 2 readings, at least 1 minute apart.
Average your readings: Hypertension specialists recommend taking three readings and then averaging the last two for the most accurate measurement.
Everyone's blood pressure rises and falls many times during the course of a single day, sometimes even within minutes. Many factors contribute to these changes, including physical activity, emotion, body position, diet (especially salt and alcohol intake), and sleep deprivation.
In the American Heart Association BP measurement guideline [12], the following statement was described without any citation: 'three readings should be taken in succession, separated by at least 1 min. The first is typically the highest, and the average should be used as the blood pressure reading.
It's normal for there to be small changes in your blood pressure. Don't check your blood pressure too often. Some people find that they become worried or stressed about small changes in their readings if they take them too often.
suggested that discarding the first reading may improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of hypertension. Furthermore, in order to eliminate the increase of BP associated with the effect of alarm, ESH guidelines for home BP measurement recommend discarding the measurements performed on the first day.
It's actually quite normal. A difference of more than 10 points, though, could suggest trouble. In younger people, side-to-side differences in blood pressure can occur when a muscle or something else compresses an artery supplying the arm, or by a structural problem that prevents smooth blood flow through an artery.
A BP cuff that is too large will give falsely low readings, while an overly small cuff will provide readings that are falsely high.
Usually, blood pressure starts to rise a few hours before a person wakes up. It continues to rise during the day, peaking in midday. Blood pressure typically drops in the late afternoon and evening. Blood pressure is usually lower at night while sleeping.
Acute meal ingestion, caffeine or nicotine use can all affect BP readings, leading to errors in measurement accuracy. If the patient has a full bladder, that can lead to an error in systolic BP of up to 33 mm Hg, and the white-coat effect can have an error of up to 26 mm Hg.
Anxiety doesn't cause long-term high blood pressure (hypertension). But episodes of anxiety can cause dramatic, temporary spikes in blood pressure.
It is not until you pump up and release the blood pressure cuff 3 to 5 times that you will get an accurate reading. The difference in the first reading to the last could increased by 10 points or more. Try It Yourself: If you have an automatic blood pressure cuff, take your blood pressure 5 times in a row.
The study found: Blood pressure readings taken at home were consistent with ABPM. Blood pressure readings based on follow-up clinic visits were significantly lower for the systolic measure, leading to over half of the people with hypertension based on ABPM being missed.
Your blood pressure should be checked in the morning, about an hour after you wake up, and in the evening, about an hour before you go to sleep, using the same arm each time. Taking 3 consecutive measurements (about 1 minute apart) will provide a more accurate understanding of your "true" blood pressure.
“Blood pressure is at its lowest when we sleep, goes up a bit in the morning when we wake up, and then it often goes down again by mid-morning after you sit down and have a little breakfast.”
Call 911 or emergency medical services if your blood pressure is 180/120 mm Hg or greater and you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or symptoms of stroke. Stroke symptoms include numbness or tingling, trouble speaking, or changes in vision.
Still, you can make lifestyle changes to bring your blood pressure down. Something as simple as keeping yourself hydrated by drinking six to eight glasses of water every day improves blood pressure. Water makes up 73% of the human heart,¹ so no other liquid is better at controlling blood pressure.
Insomnia is linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Over time, poor sleep can also lead to unhealthy habits that can hurt your heart, including higher stress levels, less motivation to be physically active, and unhealthy food choices.
What causes blood pressure to fluctuate from high to low? Anxiety, stress, drugs, alcohol, physical exercise, and a range of medical conditions such as sleep apnea and kidney disease can cause your blood pressure to fluctuate from high to low.