Consider this a “pressure check.”
To maintain good blood pressure control, some individuals with hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, take their own blood pressure readings at home. Actually, the American Heart Association home recommends home self-monitoring for everyone living with high blood pressure. It helps the healthcare provider determine if treatments are working to keep blood pressure under control.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to life-changing and life-threatening conditions, including heart attack or heart failure, stroke, vision loss, kidney damage or kidney failure, narrowing of the arteries and sexual dysfunction.
There are some simple steps to take to make sure you taking your blood pressure properly. Did you know that smoking, eating a large meal, taking decongestants or even drinking coffee 30 minutes before taking your blood pressure can affect the reading? You should also use the bathroom, if needed, before you take your own blood pressure.
The American Heart Association says if you have your own blood pressure monitoring device, take it with you to your doctor for your doctor to examine. The doctor can make sure you are using it properly via your demonstration and check the device’s readings against the one at the physician’s office.
Make sure it’s a certified cuff device – cuffs are more accurate than other marketed devices – and make sure the blood pressure cuff is the right size for your arm. If you are not sure which one to buy, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice. The AHA says use the same arm each time you take your blood pressure, take it at the same time of day, and keep a blood pressure journal to chart your progress. AHA recommends home monitoring for all persons with high blood pressure, using a certified, automatic cuff-style monitor.
You don’t have to buy a blood pressure monitoring device to keep track, AHA volunteer and nurse Devita Stallings said.
“If you don’t have a blood pressure monitor or if you can’t afford one, we have a list of resources and places in the city where you can go in and have your blood pressure checked for free,” Stallings said. “You can literally go to like a CVS, a Walgreens. Most grocery stores have a blood pressure kiosk where you can just stick your arm in and take your blood pressure as well.”
She added that some YMCA branches have blood pressure kiosks as well.
“When people keep track of it, it really sort of empowers them to take ownership of their health symptoms,” said Stallings, whose doctoral research centered around cardiovascular health. “What we find is that a lot of people may not take their medication because they don’t feel bad.”
Just keep track of your readings by jotting down the measurements, saving them in your phone as a note, in your calendar, or in an app that you can show to your doctor on your next visit.
The AHA has an online tracker (https://www.ccctracker.com/) where you can sign up to store blood pressure readings and set up reminders to take blood pressure. It’s called “Check. Change. Control.”
“It will actually graph your blood pressure over time, and you can see times when it was normal versus times it was higher,” Stallings said. “You can also set reminders that will send text messages or email to you to remind you to check your blood pressure.”
Check. Change. Control. enrollees can connect to other American Heart Association volunteer ambassadors who encourage you to monitor your blood pressure. While they do not have access to your health information, Stallings said they can help people track their numbers and understand what the levels mean.
“If they see that their numbers really are high, they are more encouraged to take their medications,” she said. “That’s another problem with high blood pressure – people are not compliant with taking their medication.”
There are also health care providers in the system that you can connect to as well. Stallings said, “If a person’s physician is also enrolled in the program, they can go in and monitor their patient’s blood pressure as well, remotely.”
Check. Change. Control is a part of the AHA Empowered to Serve program, sponsored by Express Scripts Foundation. Local community partners include St. Louis University School of Nursing, Affinia Healthcare & YMCA.
Find out more about the AHA online blood pressure tracker Check. Change. Control. at https://www.ccctracker.com/.
For more information about checking your blood pressure at home, visit http://bit.ly/2xzGq6i.
The American Heart Association follows the American Medical Association – Johns Hopkins guidelines for self-measured blood pressure checks.
Rest for five minutes before taking your blood pressure.
Position yourself correctly by sitting in a chair with your back supported and your feet flat on the floor or a footstool (no legs dangling or crossed).
Rest your arm on a table or armrest close to the level of your heart.
Place the blood pressure cuff on bare skin just above your elbow (also at heart-level). The cuff hose should go down the inside of the arm.
Remain relaxed and still while the blood pressure is measured.
There should be no talking, texting, reading, watching TV, playing videos or other distractions while the monitor is assessing your blood pressure reading.
Wait one minute and check your blood pressure again, and write both sets of numbers down.
Take blood pressure readings at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
Report blood pressure readings to your doctor.
