Can you check your blood pressure at home?

Question

I remeber learning about counting the beats n all with ur fingers at ur wrist. But i dont remember it all. Is that technique to find out your blood pressure? How can i find out my blood pressure at home?

Answer 1

Counting the beats will give you your heart rate (pulse) not your blood pressure.

You can check your blood pressure at home, but you need a machine to do it. They are commercially available machines that aren't too expensive. The cuff/stethoscope method isn't real practical to do on yourself.

If you're just curious, and don't want to invest in a BP machine, check out your local pharmacy or grocery store; many of them have BP machines that you can sit in, put your arm through the cuff and get a free BP reading.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

There are several good styles of self taking blood pressure machines available at low cost that provide a decent and acceptable reading----there is the traditional style of sphygmomanometer that uses the well known cuff and bladder with a stethoscope attached to the cuff to make it easy to self check-----this style does take a little more practice to develop a 'feel----and an 'ear' for getting the correct reading-------and then there are self take digital automatic read-out styles-------there are some you merely put on your wrist and push a button-----they seems to show a reading close enough to be satisfactory...... then there are models that have a cuff that may be used either on the upper arm or forearms----also auto-------push a button and you get good results without training-------beauty part is you can check it often and under a wide variety of circumstances----i suggest checking often---at rest----under stress----while calm----after activity------as well as checking difference between left arm and right arm so you will know if there is a big difference between arms (can be significant is some patients) you do need to know this. you can then report the findings to the doctor.

Answer 3

The medical literature of the past 20 years strongly suggests that home blood pressure readings taken within one hour of awakening correlate best with cardiovascular risk (events such as heart attack and 'stroke') and I have for the past 5 years used home readings to define those who require treatment and to monitor the effects of treatment. There is no definition of 'normal' blood pressure so there is no definition of 'high' blood pressure and in fact there is a linear increase in cardiovascular risk with readings above 110/060. Although I have no preference among blood pressure monitors the Rely-On which sells for $50 at WalMart is a Consumer Reports 'Best Buy'. The only other caveat is that the monitor must be for the upper arm as the is no data on for the forearm, wrist, or finger. The only other comment is that the technology of blood pressure monitors has not advanced in the past 100+ years and the technology is most needed for those who are overweight as the upper arm tends to be more conically shaped than cylindrical and readings are more difficult to obtain. If you take home blood pressure readings and would like to know how to interpret them email me at [e-mail]

Answer 4

Absolutely. Checking your blood pressure at home is easy but you need to acquire and accurate monitor to give you the most precise readings.

Accurate readings are very important as it will tell you if your current regimen is working or not.

To learn how to check your blood pressure at home, watch this Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzBjfO-Rf34

Also checkout the link in the Video description which takes you to an article that provides some further information on how to check your blood pressure at home.

Answer 5

Your fingers at your wrist would be pulse rate. If you have a portable blood pressure cuff, you can do this at home. There are small blood pressure machines you can use, but they are expensive, I believe.

Answer 6

Go to your local drugstore...Walgreen's....and purchase a blood pressure monitor. You can most easily use a wrist model. If you want to go online, look for a Omron brand wrist cuff. They work great and are much easier to use by yourself than a model that goes around your upper arm.