Your doctor maintains a chart of your blood pressure results. Each time your pressure rises or falls places you into categories that determine the treatment you need, MayoClinic.com indicates. Usually, if a change in blood pressure occurs during a visit to the doctor’s office, the physician may order the nurse to take your blood pressure in the same position at least three times to get an accurate reading. Your blood pressure will be categorized depending how high it reads.
Step 1
Take your blood pressure each day at the same time and in the same bodily position as all the readings will be important in charting your blood pressure. Blood pressure readings should be done three times and a minute apart each time for the new reading. Many at-home blood pressure monitors do not provide accurate readings the first time. You may get an extraordinarily high or low reading. For this reason, test three times each time you take your blood pressure reading. Do not exercise, smoke nor drink alcohol or beverages containing caffeine for at least 30 minutes before taking your pressure.
Step 2
Do not take your blood pressure on the same arm that you have experienced an injury, Drugs.com recommends. If the arm has a shunt or intravenous drug needle in it, the blood pressure monitor can give a false reading. Blood pressure may read differently or incorrectly in an injured arm. Drugs.com also recommends that any woman who has had a mastectomy should take her blood pressure in the opposite arm.
Step 3
Use the printable tracker from the American Heart Association to record your blood pressure monitoring results daily. You can place it in your wallet so you always have access to it. It provides detailed categories of time and date and many slots to write down your readings. Use this or another tracker to keep track of your blood pressure so you have it with you during your doctor’s visits. It also provides information immediately to doctors and nurses in a hospital emergency room or inpatient department to help them evaluate your health care needs.
Step 4
Make sure your blood pressure cuff maintains an accurate reading, The middle of the cuff is placed over the inner elbow area of your arm. This area, which contains the brachial artery, has an important significance for your reading. Your arm should be level on a surface each time you take a reading. Use your stethoscope and place the diaphragm over the artery and pump up the cuff using the valve on the bulb. Slowly open the valve and write down the first strong beat you hear and the last beat you hear. These are your diastolic and systolic readings. The systolic is written over the diastolic just like a fraction. For example, MayoClinic.com reports that a normal reading for a healthy adult should by 120/80 millimeters of mercury. Always record these numbers exactly as indicated by the blood pressure monitor.
Things You'll Need
- Chart tracker
- Blood pressure monitor
- Stethoscope
- Pen or pencil
