At the beginning, measure your blood pressure at least twice daily. Take it first in the morning before eating or taking any medications. Take it again in the evening. Each time you measure, take two or three readings to make sure your results are the same.
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.
The American Heart Association recommends repeating a BP measurement at the same clinic visit with at least 1 minute separating BP readings,2 yet in busy primary care practices BP often is measured only once.
It's important to take the readings at the same time each day, such as morning and evening. It is best to take the readings daily, ideally beginning two weeks after a change in treatment and during the week before your next appointment. Take multiple readings and record the results.
When it comes to blood pressure, one reading may not be enough. Forty-six percent of Americans have high blood pressure, but studies show when it's taken twice at your doctor's office - with at least one minute in between - the second reading is typically lower and a more accurate measurement.
Take a repeat reading.
Wait 1 to 3 minutes after the first reading, and then take another. If your monitor doesn't keep track of blood pressure readings or heart rates, write them down.
Solely relying on your first blood pressure reading may lead to an inaccurate diagnosis because it's usually higher than the second reading. Your doctor or nurse should take more than one reading and compare the results for better accuracy.
Everyone's blood pressure rises and falls many times during the course of a single day, sometimes even within minutes.
Fluctuating blood pressure can be normal, as blood pressure varies somewhat throughout the day. Stress, exercise, and sleep can all make a difference. But if your blood pressure often changes significantly from one healthcare visit to another, there may a problem.
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. Continue to measure your blood pressure twice a day for 7 days. Your doctor or nurse will use this information to work out your average blood pressure.
A cuff that is too snug or too loose on the mid-upper arm can lead to greatly exaggerated blood pressure measurements, results of a community-based study show.
Anxiety doesn't cause long-term high blood pressure (hypertension). But episodes of anxiety can cause dramatic, temporary spikes in blood pressure.
Time to reach a stable blood pressure
Simulations using the final model showed that only 50% of the population was stabilised to within 5 mmHg of systolic Prest after 5 min resting time, while up to 25 min may be needed to ensure stable BP in 90% of the population (full results in the Appendix).
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.
“It's normal, of course, for a person's blood pressure to rise and fall from minute to minute with changes in posture, exercise, stress, or sleep,” says Mercado. “As a result, health care professionals consider an average reading more important than that at any one time.”
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.
Take three readings in the morning, one to two minutes apart, and the same again in the evening, and record all the readings. Take an average of the readings, but discard the first one if it's much higher than the others.
There are instances in which the BP-measurement accuracy is affected by patients' habits or behaviors. Acute meal ingestion, caffeine or nicotine use can all affect BP readings, leading to errors in measurement accuracy.
Take your blood pressure at the same time every day. Take at least two readings, 1 or 2 minutes apart.
And does dehydration cause high blood pressure? Drinking water can help normalize your blood pressure but doesn't necessarily lower your blood pressure unless you are dehydrated. Because your blood is made up of 90% water, the overall volume will decrease when you are dehydrated.
Most monitors you find in a drugstore or online are fine, Dr. Laffin says. But it doesn't hurt to take it to your doctor's office and check yours against the office monitor. “If the systolic blood pressure (the top number) on your cuff is within 10 points of the monitor, then it's generally accurate,” he says.
Blood pressure measurements that are higher at your home than at your health care provider's office could be caused by an error in measuring your blood pressure at home. It also might be due to a decrease in your stress level at your provider's office.
Conclusions. Single-arm measurements, compared to double-arm measurements, may underestimate the prevalence of hypertension. However, if double-arm measurements are unavailable, right arm is preferred for measurement of BP, especially in women.
In a 2019 scientific statement detailing proper blood pressure measurement, the AHA recommended taking readings from both arms during an initial patient visit and using the arm with the higher reading for measurements at subsequent visits.