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.
Use a blood pressure log [PDF – 284 KB] to record your blood pressure measurements. Take your blood pressure at the same time every day. Take at least two readings, 1 or 2 minutes apart.
White coat syndrome may cause your first blood pressure reading to be high. Your blood pressure reading may be high if you don't sit in an optimal position: both feet flat on the floor with your back upright and supported.
Everyone's blood pressure rises and falls many times during the course of a single day, sometimes even within minutes.
“It's actually quite normal to have variation in blood pressure readings, even within a few minutes,” says Marjorie Willett, nurse practitioner at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center. “Factors that may create changes include physical activity, emotion, diet (especially salt and alcohol intake), and sleep deprivation.”
Anxiety doesn't cause long-term high blood pressure (hypertension). But episodes of anxiety can cause dramatic, temporary spikes in blood pressure.
“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.”
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. Your health care provider might recommend taking your blood pressure at the same times each day.
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.
Anxiety may lead to high blood pressure, and high blood pressure may trigger feelings of anxiety. Doctors characterize anxiety as feelings of intense worry or fear. It causes many physical symptoms, including increased heart rate and shallow breathing. Periods of anxiety may also temporarily increase blood pressure.
Unfortunately, high blood pressure can happen without feeling any abnormal symptoms. Moderate or severe headaches, anxiety, shortness of breath, nosebleeds, palpitations, or feeling of pulsations in the neck are some signs of high 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.
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.
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.
Medical professionals have long known that blood pressure measured in a doctor's office may not match your true normal blood pressure.
Propranolol slows down your heart rate and makes it easier for your heart to pump blood around your body. It's usually prescribed for high blood pressure and other heart problems, but it can also help with the physical signs of anxiety, like sweating and shaking.
Check your breathing
Breathing normally during the test will get you the most accurate result. If you notice yourself breathing too hard or holding your breath before you start measuring, you can try taking three long, deep breaths to relax.
Doctors often ask patients to breathe deeply before getting their blood pressure taken, for example, and mindful people may take a deep breath before responding to an insult.
But you might not know that a banana a day keeps high blood pressure at bay. This fruit is packed full of potassium — an important blood pressure-lowering mineral. Potassium helps balance sodium in the body.
Answer From Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D. Caffeine may cause a short, but dramatic increase in your blood pressure, even if you don't have high blood pressure. It's unclear what causes this spike in blood pressure. The blood pressure response to caffeine differs from person to person.