omron bp monitors?

Question

hello. im worried about blood pressure. my family i believe has normal blood pressure, besides my dad, who only has high bp because he drinks way too much beer. anyway, im 14, 5'6.5'', and 120 lbs, which is skinny. at the doc, when i got my physical, my pulse was 90, and my bp was 95/70. i was told this was good. i must note that they took the bp in my right arm. anyway, in health class, we used a finger monitor, and i was like 145/102. so bullshit that was. so, my dad got a 100doll. omron monitor. i take it almost daily while im at his house and at diff. times. it's weird though- ill take it, and it will be bad, then ill take it again immediately after, and it will be good. and, my bp doesnt' seem to be higher when i first wake up in the morning. could there be a diff. in right and left arm bp? this seems too odd. also, i was very anxious at the docs,as it was my first ever physical. thanks.

Answer 1

Your blood pressure will be a little different each time you take it, never exactly the same. Omron has a good reputation for a (are you ready?) sphygmomanometer. There should not be a big difference between left and right measurements. Some people always have a higher reading in a doctor's office - they call it a "white coat" reaction because they're more tense. BP is higher with stress, anger, fever, exercise, and lower while lying down, relaxed bored, early morning, etc. If you keep a "diary" the doctor will just check the general range of numbers listed. They'd like you to keep it within a healthy range, and if it's consistently high, help you try to get it down with meds, or conversation. Low blood pressure is usually a good thing, I was told.