Blood pressure (BP) indicates arterial pressure, a vital sign for demonstrating blood circulation efficiency. It's definitely one of the parameters that determine your well-being. Blood pressure is the first thing getting checked at a doctor's appointment because an elevated BP may be indicative of several underlying health problems.If not treated at the right time, the condition could become potentially catastrophic. Patients with elevated BP are usually advised to use measuring equipment at home for regularly checking their blood pressure.

This article aims to give detailed information on how to measure blood pressure and effectively manage it using the right equipment.

Follow These Steps to Measure Your Blood Pressure Manually

For hypertension patients, it's a good practice to get the pressure levels checked couple of times a week. Let's look at how to check blood-pressure at home.

Use a Sphygmomanometer

Before measuring your BP, it's important that you follow some basic rules, such as refraining from smoking and drinking alcohol or caffeinated drinks. All of these substances can increase blood pressure. Also, avoid strenuous exercise at least thirty minutes before the test. It's advised to be relaxed, so have some soothing music in the background while testing your BP.

Furthermore, it's important to find the right cuff based on your arm size. There are three available cups - small, medium and large. Buy the right cuff for accurate readings!

Read the following detailed directions on how to check blood pressure by yourself at home:

• Choose a suitable place like a table or desk. Sit upright, place your elbow on the table so that your arm is at the heart level and perpendicular to the body.
• Set up the equipment: remove the cuffs, stethoscope, bulb, and untangle the wires.
• Locate your pulse by positioning two fingers on your elbow's inner centre. Unable to locate it manually? Use a stethoscope at the same location.
• Place the cuffs about 2 cm above your left elbow. Make sure it's secured with a heavy-duty Velcro, and tight enough so that your right hand fingertips can manoeuvre inside the cuff. You shouldn't be able to slide your fingers inside.
• Place the diaphragm of the stethoscope on the inner arm. Part of it should be underneath the cuff and resting on your brachial artery. Support the stethoscope's radial head with your index and middle finger (do not use thumb which has its own pulse). Once this is done, gently place the earpieces of the equipment in your ears.
• In case the pressure clip of your equipment isn't attached to the bulb, place it in a location where it's easily visible.
• Tighten the bulb's valve so that no air escapes the equipment.
• Inflate the cuff by pumping the bulb rapidly until the pressure clip reaches 180 mmHg. This will temporarily cut off the blood supply and you may feel an expected discomfort.
• Slowly release the pressure by loosening the valve at a steady rate. Note your systolic pressure as the reading on the clip when you hear the first thump on the stethoscope.
• Your diastolic pressure is the measure on the clip when your heart stops thumping and there's silence after the slight whooshing stops.

Once you have checked your blood pressure, you may wonder what the results mean exactly. Here's a chart to help you decode your blood pressure readings:

Normal blood pressure: Systolic number is below 120 and diastolic number is below 80.

Prehypertension: Systolic number is between 120 and 129 and diastolic number is below 80.

Stage 1 high blood pressure: Systolic number is between 130 and 139 or diastolic number is between 80 and 89.

Stage 2 high blood pressure: Systolic number has reached 140 or more or diastolic number is 90 or more than 90.

Hypertensive crisis: Systolic number higher than 180 and diastolic number is higher than 120.

And that's how you can read your systolic and diastolic pressures. Don't worry if you miss a reading, just repeat the process and make a note. Check your BP regularly, it's preferable to do it at the same time every day while keeping a steady track. And although there are many equipments to aid you with blood-pressure measurements, it's best to visit periodically a healthcare professional. A professional can check your blood pressure readings accurately so that your medicines can be altered in accordance to your latest health check-up. This is how you can prevent yourself from getting inadequate medication doses.

When to See a Doctor

Tracking your BP is good, but you need to visit a doctor in case it's elevated or too low. Normal readings range between 110/70 mmHg and 120/80 mmHg. If your blood pressure levels are elevated or high, it's best to visit your doctor at the earliest convenience. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is paramount to keep your blood-pressure under control.

• In case your BP rises above 120/80 mmHg over two to three readings, it's better to immediately book an appointment with your doctor. An elevated or high BP can lead to several health ailments which could become life-threatening without any medical intervention.

• If your BP is consistently below 90/60, get a doctor consultation immediately as low blood pressure could cause weakness, dizziness, and blurred vision due to poor blood supply to organs.

Use Apps to Track Your Blood Pressure

Now that you have learned how to check blood pressure on your own, tracking it to understand a wider pattern is important. There are several ways that can be employed to track your BP readings. However, the easiest is to use tracking apps that will also tell when you need to visit a doctor. Some of these apps are:

Blood Pressure Monitor

This app lets you put in details like your weight, latest BP reading, prescribed medicines, etc. Based on your health history, the app creates a visual / graphical and tabular output to help understand the changes in your BP in accordance with the medication. The results can be exported and mailed to your health care provider. All of this data helps your doctor take an informed decision while changing medicines.

Blood Pressure Companion

With this app you can track your BP, heart rate, weight along with the date of test conduction. It also reminds you about your doctor's appointments so that you won't miss them.

iBP Blood Pressure

iBP is a blood pressure tracking tool that can be used across many devices. It indicates the various blood pressure ranges using several colors to give a pictorial representation. A snapshot of the graphs can be taken and shown to your health care professional, thus making this tool very user-friendly.

Take Home Message

Regularly monitoring your BP levels while leading a healthy and active lifestyle means keeping your hyper/hypotension at bay. This way, you may avoid any future health complications that these ailments can bring. Thanks to the progress in science, keeping your BP under control is now easier than ever! This video helps in providing a step by step guide on how to check your BP manually: