How To Get Blood Pressure

How Does High Blood Pressure Affect Your Body

• Your Brain – High blood pressure hurts the arteries leading to the brain and increases your risk for stroke .
• Your Heart and Blood Vessels – High blood pressure hurts your heart and blood vessels and increases your risk for heart attack.
• Your Kidneys – High blood pressure hurts your kidneys and increases your risk for kidney failure.

Understanding Your Blood Pressure Reading

Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury and is given as 2 numbers:

• systolic pressure the pressure when your heart pushes blood out
• diastolic pressure the pressure when your heart rests between beats

The highest number is always the systolic pressure and it’s always given first. For example, a blood pressure given as “120 over 80” or 120/80mmHg means a systolic pressure of 120mmHg and a diastolic pressure of 80mmHg.

As a general guide:

• normal blood pressure is considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg
• high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher
• low blood pressure is considered to be 90/60mmHg or lower

If your reading is between 120/80mmHg and 140/90mmHg, you may be at risk of developing high blood pressure. There are things you can do to help prevent high blood pressure.

Omron M2 Basic Blood Pressure Monitors

Before looking at this great little piece of kit in detail, watch this quick video to see exactly how to use your new product: As the video shows, this product can comfortably and easily record your blood pressureand benefits from some great features to ensure ease of use.

The most prominent and popular feature with customers is the easy-to-read large screen which allows for quick reading and recording. Another important feature is the one-button activation which makes the whole process very straightforward and removes the need to pump up the band as you may find in your doctors surgery and could prove quite difficult if you live alone.

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If You Get A High Blood Pressure Reading

• A single high reading is not an immediate cause for alarm. If you get a reading that is slightly or moderately higher than normal, take your blood pressure a few more times and consult your healthcare professional to verify if there s a health concern or whether there may be any issues with your monitor.
• If your blood pressure readings suddenly exceed 180/120 mm Hg, wait five minutes and test again. If your readings are still unusually high, contact your doctor immediately. You could be experiencing a hypertensive crisis.
• If your blood pressure is higher than 180/120 mm Hg and you are experiencing signs of possible organ damage such as chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness/weakness, change in vision, difficulty speaking, do not wait to see if your pressure comes down on its own. Call 911.

Drink Milk Coconut Water And Cranberry Juice

Milk is a superfood. It consists of potassium, calcium, and Vitamin D. These nutrients are directly proven to lower blood pressure immediately.

Coconut water is highly rich in potassium, electrolytes, and minerals. These nutrients are an immediate solution to hypertension.

Not only that, at times, deficiency of these minerals can cause hypertension.

A study in West Indian Medical Journal proved that coconut water drops the pressure by margins.

Cranberry juice is rich in proanthocyanidins. This helps in reducing high BP by dilating blood vessels and increasing blood flow.

Articles published in Nature, 2016 proves that berry juice lowers systolic blood pressure.

However, milk is not suitable for everyone as people have lactose intolerance.

Thus, consultation with a doctor before the change in diet is advisable.

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Measuring Blood Pressure With A Sphygmomanometer

A sphygmomanometer has three parts:

• a cuff that can be inflated with air,
• a pressure meter for measuring air pressure in the cuff, and
• a stethoscope for listening to the sound the blood makes as it flows through the brachial artery .

The scale of the pressure meter ranges from 0 to 300 mmHg. The pressure meter has a rubber pump on it for inflating the cuff and a button for letting the air out.

To measure blood pressure, the cuff is placed around the bare and stretched out upper arm, and inflated until no blood can flow through the brachial artery. Then the air is slowly let out of the cuff.

As soon as the air pressure in the cuff falls below the systolic blood pressure in the brachial artery, blood will start to flow through the arm once again. This creates a pounding sound when the arteries close again and the walls of the vessels hit each other after a heart beat. The sound can be heard by placing the stethoscope close to the elbow. Right when you start to hear this pounding for the first time you can read your systolic blood pressure off the pressure meter.

The pounding sound stops when the air pressure in the cuff falls below the diastolic blood pressure in the brachial artery. Then the blood vessels remain open. Right when the pounding stops, you can read the diastolic blood pressure off the pressure meter.

What Affects A Blood Pressure Reading

Many things can affect a blood pressure reading, including:

• Nervousness about having your blood pressure taken. This is called white coat syndrome. As many as 1 in 3 people who have a high blood pressure reading at the doctors office may have normal blood pressure readings outside of it.1
• What you ate, drank, or did before your reading. If you smoked, drank alcohol or caffeine, or exercised within 30 minutes of having your blood pressure measured, your reading might be higher.2
• How you are sitting. Crossing your legs and letting your arm droop at your side rather than rest on a table at chest height can make your blood pressure go up.2

Its important to get an accurate blood pressure reading so that you have a clearer picture of your risk for heart disease and stroke.

A reading that says your blood pressure is lower than it actually is may give you a false sense of security about your health. A reading that says your blood pressure is higher than it actually is may lead to treatment you dont need.

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Foods To Eat And Avoid And Workouts To Raise Blood Pressure

• Delia Rimes

  “I m normally have high blood pressure, and I take two meds for that . Every now and then it will take a nose-dive out of nowhere. On two separate occasions, it will do this while I sleep, even to the point of passing out. Tonight was the second time. It is very scary to pass out while you sleep. I also have obstructive sleep apnea. When I was growing up, my mom would pour cola syrup into a cup of crushed ice and I’d sip on it. I also used to carry smelling salts.”…” moreRated this article:

How To Take Blood Pressure Manually

This article was co-authored by Michael Corsilles, ND. Dr. Corsilles is a Naturopath and a Physician Assistant in Washington. He completed his Naturopathic medical training at Bastyr University in 2003, and received his Physician Assistant certification from the University of Washington in 2010.There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 15 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 574,893 times.

If you or someone you know is at risk for high or low blood pressure, you may want to invest in a manual blood pressure kit for home use. Learning how to take your blood pressure manually may take a little practice, but it is actually quite easy once you learn how. You’ll need to know what to wear, when to take your blood pressure, how to take it accurately, and how to interpret the results. With a little practice you’ll know how to find your systolic and diastolic pressure readings and what those numbers actually mean.

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What Does Your Blood Pressure Reading Mean

If this is your first time taking your blood pressure, discuss the results with your doctor. Blood pressure is a very individualized vital sign reading, which means it can be very different for each person. Some people have naturally low blood pressure all the time, for example, while others may run on the higher side.

In general, a normal blood pressure is considered anything less than 120/80. Your own personal blood pressure will depend on your gender, age, weight, and any medical conditions you have. If you do register a blood pressure reading of 120/80 or over, wait two to five minutes and recheck.

If its still high, talk to your doctor to rule out hypertension. If your blood pressure ever goes over 180 systolic or over 120 diastolic after a repeat reading, seek emergency medical care right away.

Finding And Treating Underlying Causes And Making Lifestyle Changes Will Help

Many people have high blood pressure in older age, and sometimes its hard to control. That problem is called resistant hypertension blood pressure that stays above a set goal, such as 140/90 millimeters of mercury , despite taking three classes of blood pressure drugs at the highest tolerable doses. The condition is a major risk factor for stroke, heart disease, dementia, and more. What can you do to tame it?

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Try These Medicinal Herbs

Herbal medicines have long been used in many cultures to treat a variety of ailments.

Some herbs have even been shown to possibly lower blood pressure. However, more research is needed to identify the doses and components in the herbs that are most useful.

Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking herbal supplements. They may interfere with your prescription medications.

Heres a partial list of plants and herbs that are used by cultures throughout the world to lower blood pressure:

• black bean
• river lily

• Avoid daytime naps.
• Make your bedroom comfortable.

The 2010 national Sleep Heart Health Study found that regularly sleeping fewer than 7 hours a night and more than 9 hours a night was associated with an increased rate of high blood pressure.

Regularly sleeping fewer than 5 hours a night was linked to a significant risk of high blood pressure long term .

What Is Normal Blood Pressure And When Is Blood Pressure Considered To Be High

Blood pressure is always measured on a number of different days and when you are at rest. If several of these measurements are too high, you are said to have high blood pressure, even if only one of the two either the systolic or the diastolic one is high. The medical term for high blood pressure is hypertension. In adults, blood pressure is considered to be normal under a systolic value of 140 mmHg and under a diastolic value of 90 mmHg.

When taking your blood pressure for the first time, it makes sense to measure the blood pressure in both arms, because it’s sometimes high on only one side. The values that are higher are always the ones used for assessing blood pressure. After that it is enough to measure the blood pressure only in the arm that produced the higher reading. A person is considered to have high blood pressure if the systolic value is over 140 mmHg, the diastolic value is over 90 mmHg, or if both are higher than these readings.

Table: Normal and high blood pressure readings

systolic over 140 mmHg and/or diastolic over 90 mmHg

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Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• Why do I need to monitor my blood pressure at home?
• How often do I need to measure my blood pressure?
• What type of monitor should I use?
• What do my blood pressure readings mean?
• What is considered a normal blood pressure for me?
• What should I do if my readings are abnormal?
• Are there any lifestyle changes I can make to help manage my blood pressure?
• Do I need to take medicine to manage my blood pressure?
• What other things can affect a blood pressure reading?

What Is A Blood Pressure Measurement

Each time your heart beats, it pumps blood into your arteries. A blood pressure measurement is a test that measures the force in your arteries as your heart pumps. Blood pressure is measured as two numbers:

• Systolic blood pressure measures pressure inside your arteries when the heart beats.
• Diastolic blood pressure measures the pressure inside the artery when the heart rests between beats.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects tens of millions of adults in the United States. It increases the risk of life-threatening conditions including heart attack and stroke. But high blood pressure rarely causes symptoms. A blood pressure measurement helps diagnose high blood pressure early, so it may be treated before it leads to serious complications.

Other names: blood pressure reading, blood pressure test, blood pressure screening, sphygmomanometry

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Tips On Taking Your Medicines

• Use a weekly pillbox to help you remember to take your medicine, even if you only take one pill.
• Take your pills at the same time each day. Use a timer or alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to take your medicine.
• Write down on your calendar when you need to refill your medicine at least 1-2 weeks before you run out.
• When you travel, carry your medicine list, and at least 1-2 days of extra medicine.
• Keep taking your medicines even if your blood pressure is at your goal.

Medications For High Blood Pressure

There is a large variety of medicines available to lower and manage high blood pressure. Your doctor may call them antihypertensives, .

These medications do not cure high blood pressure, but they do help manage it. Once you start to take medicines to manage your blood pressure, you may need to take them for the rest of your life. However, the dose of these medicines may change over time.

If you need to take medication, your doctor will advise you on the correct type and dose. Two or more different medications are often needed to manage blood pressure.

Make sure you take your medicines regularly. Some things that may help you remember to take them include:

• Building them into your daily routine by taking them at the same time each day.
• Keeping them somewhere that will remind you such as next to your alarm, or with your coffee or tea.
• Using a weekly pill box.
• Asking a family member or friend to remind you.
• Always carrying a list of your medicines and their doses with you.
• Entering a daily alarm in your mobile phone or download an app to remind you.

Take any blood pressure medicine exactly as prescribed. Dont stop or change your medicine, unless your doctor advises you to.

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Increase Your Activity Levels

Exercise plays a significant role in lowering blood pressure. By regularly increasing your heart and breathing rates, your heart gets stronger and pumps with less effort over time. This puts less strain on your arteries and lowers your blood pressure.

Studies support the role of exercise in lowering blood pressure. An analysis of 65 studies suggests that aerobic and resistance exercise can significantly lower blood pressure, especially in men. For example, in a 2013 study, sedentary older adults who participated in aerobic exercise training lowered their blood pressure by an average of 3.9% systolic and 4.5% diastolic.

A 2019 report by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association advises moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity for 40-minute sessions, three to four times per week.

Ongoing studies suggest that there are still benefits to even light physical activity, especially for older adults. Simple ways to up your activity levels include:

• walking instead of driving
• doing household chores like washing windows and floors
• gardening and leaf raking

How Do Health Care Professionals Measure My Blood Pressure

First, a health care professional wraps an inflatable cuff around your arm. The health care professional then inflates the cuff, which gently tightens on your arm. The cuff has a gauge on it that will measure your blood pressure.

The health care professional will slowly let air out of the cuff while listening to your pulse with a stethoscope and watching the gauge. This process is quick and painless. If using a digital or automatic blood pressure cuff, the health care professional will not need to use a stethoscope.

The gauge uses a unit of measurement called millimeters of mercury to measure the pressure in your blood vessels.

If you have high blood pressure, talk to your health care team about steps to take to control your blood pressure to lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Use this list of questions to ask your health care team pdf icon to help you manage your blood pressure.

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One The Easiest Steps You Can Take To Prevent High Blood Pressure Is Choosing Healthy Foods

High blood pressure is a health issue that affects both young and old Australians alike, with close to 6 million Australians aged 18 years and over with high blood pressure.

Alarmingly its one of the leading risk factors for death and disability in Australia, as well as across the world.

One the easiest steps you can take to prevent high blood pressure is choosing healthy foods.

The foods we choose every day are important for our heart health. Research into high blood pressure shows us that the foods we consume can help to lower and manage high blood pressure.

But dont worry, weve done the heavy lifting and read the research, all you need to do is read on. The following foods are your best bets in beating high blood pressure based on the science.

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