“Checking your blood pressure at home can be very helpful,” said Thomas Bleasdale, MD, an internal medicine physician with Endeavor Health. “It allows you the opportunity to assess what your normal blood pressure can be outside the doctor’s office in a comfortable, familiar environment where there are few outside influences that can affect your blood pressure overall.”
Good home blood pressure cuffs can range in price from about $50 to $100 and are typically reimbursable with Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) funds.
Your physician can also help recommend the proper size for your arm, as a cuff that’s too loose or too tight will not provide accurate readings.
A helpful feature on many home blood pressure cuffs is a Bluetooth connection so the readings can be recorded on a smartphone app.
Dr. Bleasdale suggests following these steps to get accurate blood pressure readings at home:
- Check your blood pressure during a relaxed, quiet time of day. Most experts recommend checking it at the same time in the morning and again in the evening.
- Do not smoke, drink caffeine or exercise for 30 minutes before checking your blood pressure.
- Empty your bladder before taking the reading.
- Sit quietly and rest for about five minutes without talking or doing other tasks before taking the reading.
- Make sure you’re sitting in a chair with a straight, supported back (like a dining chair, not a couch) with both feet uncrossed and flat on the floor before you begin.
- Place the cuff on either upper arm with the middle of the cuff at heart level. Do not put the cuff over clothing.
- Rest your cuffed arm on a flat surface before checking your blood pressure. Take 2-3 readings at each check.
- Record every result and share them with your doctor.
