Do you want to use a blood pressure monitor machine at home? These days doctors recommend blood pressure monitoring at home to most people. The monitoring machine lets you check the pressure at home. As per NCBI blood pressure monitoring at home is highly recommended to manage hypertension. Regular blood pressure checks may also help you determine whether your treatment is working properly or not.

These days there are plenty of blood pressure monitors available, so before choosing the right one you should know whether it is an accurate blood pressure monitor or not. So, let us know some more imperative facts about blood pressure monitoring at home through this post and how you can choose the best monitoring machine for you?

When to Choose Blood Pressure Monitoring?

As per AHA or American Heart Association, home monitoring helps people and health care providers to know whether the treatment is working properly or not. But still, it is not a substitute for regular physician visits and medications. Medications and doctor’s consultation are always recommended by the experts. However, for all the following cases home blood pressure monitoring is highly recommended:

•   Anyone suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension
•   People who want to monitor blood pressure closely, especially the individuals with conditions and risk of high blood pressure or hypertension
•   Pregnant women having preeclampsia or hypertension condition
•   People who are starting high blood pressure treatment need to check its effect

The following chart will help you to determine the reading as per your health condition:

Note: Any unusual condition or reading should be confirmed by the doctor.

Types of BP Machines ⁽¹⁾

There are mainly two types of BP machines for home, first is an arm cuff and the other is a wrist cuff. Other types of BP machines apart from these measure the blood pressure either through a finger or through some less reliable ways. You can do some research before buying the BP machine and choose the one with user-friendly controls and easy to use.

Upper arm-cuff monitors are generally more accurate, but for people with very large arms they may not fit, so for them, wrist or lower arm monitors may be suitable. So. Try to choose the clinically validated and accurate BP machine.

How to Choose the Right BP Monitoring Machine?

When you decide that you should use the BP machine at home then you need to choose the right machine. There is a wide range of blood pressure monitors available, but the machine that you will choose should be accurate and the right fit for your requirement. So, let us know some ways to choose the best machine:

•   Ask your Physician/Healthcare Practitioner

If your physician or healthcare service provider asks you to monitor blood pressure regularly to diagnose hypertension. Some physicians provide a blood pressure monitoring machine for some period to measure the blood pressure.

•   Monitor with Upper Cuff

The blood pressure monitor that you will buy should measure the blood pressure from your upper arms such as  HEM 7361T and 7600T. However, there are some other monitors as well that can measure the blood pressure from the wrist with HEM 6232T and 6181.

•   Easy to Use

Blood pressure monitoring is done at home by every aged person. So, while buying the machine you should try that it should not be complicated. The users should be easy to operate so that anyone can use it and monitor blood pressure by themselves.

•   Accurate Measuring

You should check the BP monitor machine for accuracy at regular intervals. There are certain steps to ensure its accuracy that you can follow and access through this link.  No matter what type of BP monitor machine you will be using its accuracy check is the factor that can make your monitoring successful.

How to Measure Blood Pressure? ⁽²⁾

While measuring the blood pressure it is important to get an accurate reading and you can do it by considering certain points like:

•   Proper Sitting

You should sit straight and support yourself while measuring the blood pressure with flat feet on the floor. Moreover, the arms should be supported on a flat surface like a table and keep the upper arm at heart level. If you are using an upper arm monitor then make sure that the bottom of the cuff should be placed directly above the elbow bend. Your monitor will also have a proper manual with specified instructions so follow them while measuring the BP.

•   Fix a Time for Everyday Measurement

It is important to take the reading at the same time every day, which can be either in the morning or evening. You can also take the readings two times a day, especially if it is the beginning of your reading.

•   Take Multiple Readings

If you are going to use the monitor the first time then you may try to take 2-3 readings ten minutes apart. You can also take the help of OMRON Connect app to keep track of your results. However, some monitors also come with built-in memory options to store previous readings that can also be uploaded and saved on OMRON Connect apps.

Note: Before measuring the blood pressure avoid brisk walking, smoking, or drinking caffeinated beverages at least 30 mins before measuring.