That Health Rules

High blood pressure is now a common ailment that we hear among our friends.  The way we live our lives, the genes and our lifestyle contribute sugnoificantly to increasing this risk.  Almost always, doctors require patienhts to monitor their blood pressure at home however, majority do it wrongly or make use of wrong machines to record their BP.

The Harvard News Letter has come up with some tips that I want to share with you:

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Your blood pressure changes from hour to hour, sometimes even minute to minute. Standing up, watching an exciting sports event, eating a meal, even the time of day influence your blood pressure. It jumps around so much that you are more likely to get a “normal” reading if you check it at home rather than in the doctor’s office.

When it comes to measuring blood pressure, technique matters. Doing it wrong can give you a reading that’s too high or too low. (To see a brief video on using a home blood pressure monitor, visit health.harvard.edu/128.)
There are two things to do before you start. First, check your machine against the one in your doctor’s office. Second, make sure you have the right size cuff — the inflatable part should encircle at least 80% of your upper arm.

When you first start to check your blood pressure at home, measure it early in the morning, before you have taken your blood pressure pills, and again in the evening, every day for a week. After that, follow the plan your doctor recommends, or check it one or two days a month. Each time you take a reading:

• Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic beverages, and don’t smoke, during the 30 minutes before the test.
• Sit quietly for five minutes with your back supported and feet on the floor.
• When making the measurement, support your arm so your elbow is at the level of your heart.
• Push your sleeves out of the way and wrap the cuff over bare skin. Measure your blood pressure according to the machine’s instructions. Leave the deflated cuff in place, wait a minute, then take a second reading. If the readings are close, average them. If not, repeat again and average the three readings.
• Don’t panic if a reading is high. Relax for a few minutes and try again.
• Keep a record of your blood pressure readings and the time of day they are made.

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Simple tips that can go a long way in ensuring good control of BP.  Remember, the doctor can only help in advising what type of drug is best for you.  Then the remaining half of the job is done by you… making sure you eat the right food, the right amount of salt and getting the right amount of “stress”.

By making it a habit to check your blood pressure may not help “cure the disease” as 99% of hypertension has no identifiable cause,  BUT it will help ensure a smooth control of BP during the day to day activity that you do.  As a result, you can be assure that the simple measures that you do are being done to help prevent complications including heart attack and stroke.

Keep Your BP in Control!

This entry was posted on October 1, 2008 at 8:44 am and is filed under General Health Tips, Healthy Practice Tips, Lifestyle Measures, Medical News Bits, Tips To Protect Your Heart.