AARP Hearing Center
Video: How to Read Your Own Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure Guide
- Symptoms, causes and tests
- Stages and types
- Treatment and prevention
- High blood pressure myths
- Alcohol and blood pressure
- Hypertension headache myths
- Smoking and high blood pressure
- Anxiety, stress and hypertension
- Is hypertension genetic?
- Medications that raise blood pressure
- Home blood pressure monitoring
- Surprising causes of hypertension
According to research from the American Heart Association, roughly half of U.S. adults should be taking their blood pressure routinely at home.
This is especially important for people who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and for individuals whose doctors are trying to figure out if they have it, says internist Michael Hochman, former director of the Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science at Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles. “This way you can make sure that you’re on the right medications, at the appropriate doses, or, on the flip side, that you’re not taking medications unnecessarily,” he says.
Strapping on that arm cuff monitor at home can also paint a more accurate picture of your blood pressure than occasional office visits alone. At a doctor’s office, many people experience “white coat hypertension,” where their blood pressure shoots up in a way it doesn’t when they take a reading from home. And about one-third of American adults encounter the reverse, called masked hypertension, which means getting normal readings at a physician’s office but higher ones at home.
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
Because of these variations, as well as a number of other reasons, experts say that people whose blood pressure is creeping up into the range of 130/80 mm Hg, which is considered high, should make sure they’re monitoring themselves at home. The consequences of unmanaged hypertension can be serious, and include heart attack, stroke, organ damage — even dementia.
Here are five tips for taking your own blood pressure:
1. Buy a good model
Home blood pressure monitors come in arm cuff, wrist cuff and finger models. Of the three, an automatic upper-arm cuff-style model is the way to go, advises Luke Laffin, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. (Wrist and finger models produce less reliable readings.) Make sure the cuff fits: If it’s too large or small, you could get the wrong reading. The website www.validatebp.org from the American Medical Association lists devices that have been validated for accuracy.
If you can’t afford to buy a monitor, check to see where you can get a blood pressure reading in your community. Many pharmacies or grocery stores have blood pressure machines that customers can use for free, the American Heart Association says.
More From AARP
5 Reasons to Get Your Blood Pressure Checked Now
Research shows lower is better — even lifesaving — when it comes to blood pressure
How to Lower Your Blood Pressure Fast
Eating a teaspoon less salt a day can slash your systolic reading in just a weekBest Exercise for Lowering Blood Pressure
New study finds this is #1Try These Tips for Living a Healthier Life
Small changes can add up to big mental and physical results