Checking Blood Pressure The Right Way

Often when you visit the doctors office, the first thing they will do is check your blood pressure. It is done at almost every routine checkup. But what most patients don’t know is doctors usually check blood pressure incorrectly. They often do not follow the correct procedure when checking blood pressure. And this can lead to drug prescriptions that are not necessary.

Firstly, you need to have rested for at least 25 minutes minimum before your blood pressure can be checked. The standard in America used to be 5 minutes at rest, however it has been recently lowered to 3 minutes. Although it cannot be proven, this is most likely due to big pharma influence in the medical community. If you have just done any exercise of any kind (even walking into the doctors office) or did anything stimulating (speeding on the way to the doctors office) or anything engaging (having an intensive conversation with someone) or anything creative (painting, working with adobe premiere) or anything that could have caused you stress (paying bills or your smart phone) then your blood pressure will be higher!! The reading will not be your resting blood pressure number. It is very important to make sure your mind as at complete ease when taking the reading.

Keeping your feet flat on the floor and sitting up in a chair is the best way to get the most accurate reading. Some doctors will have you sitting on a table with your feet dangling, it has been proven in studies that feeling less grounded from this can cause a fluctuation in blood pressure.

When fitting the cuff around your arm, it should be correctly sized. A cuff that is loose fitting will give you readings which are too low, and a super snug fitting cuff will give you readings which are too high. The cuff should make contact on the whole arm, but should not be tight. This can be an issue when using public blood pressure measuring machines in drug stores and grocery stores, because often these machines have a one size fits all cuff. Which can make readings inaccurate for some people.

For those of you who are coffee drinkers, this is important. One cup of coffee in the morning usually will not cause much of a rise in blood pressure, but it is a good rule of thumb to wait at least 2 hours after having that cup of coffee to check your blood pressure. That way the body is not actively adjusting to an incoming stimulant while the pressure is being checked. If you are drinking more than one cup of coffee a day, or consuming more than 150mg of caffeine a day, your blood pressure will be higher because of that.

For smokers, blood pressure can be raised for as long as 30 minutes after your last cigarette. And maybe even a little longer in some people. This is because the active ingredients in cigarettes constrict the blood vessels (nicotine and tobacco). You are best off waiting 45-60 minutes after your last cigarette in order for the effects to wear off and for your blood pressure reading to be more accurate.

Remember that stress and anxiety can raise blood pressure. It can often cause doctors to think your blood pressure is higher than it really is and they will be ready to give you hypertension drugs. White coat syndrome should be taken into account. It is best to check your blood pressure a few times and on a few different days to make sure one or two blood pressure readings which are high are not just flukes. Studies have shown measuring the blood pressure twice a day over the course of a three or four day period, and then coming up with a median number based on all the readings put together may be beneficial.