Checking your blood pressure at home is a key part of taking care of high blood pressure, also called hypertension.
High blood pressure affects millions of people around the world and is often called the “silent killer” because it usually does not cause any clear symptoms. Even without symptoms, it greatly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other serious problems.
While doctors usually check blood pressure in their office, those readings are not always accurate. Some people get nervous in medical settings, causing their blood pressure to go up temporarily. This is called “white coat hypertension.” By checking your blood pressure at home, you can get a more honest picture of what your blood pressure is like in your everyday life.
How often you should check your blood pressure at home depends on a few things, like how bad your high blood pressure is, whether you are starting new medicines, and what your personal health goals are.
If you have just been diagnosed or have recently started taking new medication, it is usually a good idea to measure your blood pressure every day or at least several times a week. This gives your doctor the information they need to adjust your medication or treatment plan to better suit you.
Once your blood pressure is under control and staying steady, you might not need to check it as often. People whose high blood pressure is stable and who do not have other serious health problems may only need to measure it a few times a month.
However, it is still important to keep up regular checks because your blood pressure can change over time, and early changes are easier to manage.
The American Heart Association recommends that people with high blood pressure measure it at the same times each day, preferably once in the morning and once in the evening. To get the most accurate results, it is important to use a good-quality arm-cuff monitor and to sit quietly for a few minutes before taking a reading.
Research has shown that people who regularly check their blood pressure at home manage their condition better than those who only rely on readings taken at a doctor’s office. Good blood pressure control helps lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other life-threatening health problems.
Keeping a record of your blood pressure readings is also a good idea. You can write them down in a notebook or store them in a smartphone app. Sharing this record with your doctor during visits gives them a better overall view of how your blood pressure is behaving over time.
For anyone worried that home blood pressure monitoring might be expensive or hard to do, the good news is that modern monitors are usually affordable, easy to use, and available at most pharmacies or online stores. They make it practical for nearly anyone to keep track of their blood pressure at home.
In short, while how often you need to check your blood pressure can vary depending on your situation, regular monitoring is an important part of managing high blood pressure. By staying involved in your own care and working closely with your doctor, you can control your blood pressure more effectively and protect yourself from serious health problems in the future.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that drinking tea could help lower blood pressure, and early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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