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Dad Field Manual · Field card 51 · Dad HealthIdea · not yet tested

Know your numbers: blood pressure at home

High blood pressure usually has no warning signs, so feeling fine doesn't tell you much. In half an hour you'll know how to take a proper reading, have your first two numbers written down, and have a log to hand your doctor.

Time
30 min
Cost
$0–$70
Ages
Any age
Where
Kitchen table

What you need

  • An approved home blood pressure monitor with the right cuff size (or use a pharmacy machine)
  • A chair with a back and a table
  • A notebook, printed log or phone note
  • A pen
  • A clock or phone timer for the 5-minute rest

Read this first

  • Call 911 right away for chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, or sudden numbness or weakness on one side, trouble speaking or seeing, or a severe headache with no known cause.
  • Readings above 180/120 are dangerously high. NHLBI says they need immediate medical attention. Contact your provider right away.
  • Your cuff doesn't diagnose you. NHLBI says a diagnosis takes two or more readings at separate medical appointments. Bring the log, and ask before changing any medicine.
  • Feeling fine isn't a number. High blood pressure usually has no warning signs. Measuring is the only way to know.

Steps

  1. Get a cuff that fits. Use an approved home monitor with the right cuff size, or a pharmacy blood pressure machine.
  2. Set up 30 minutes ahead. No food, caffeine, alcohol, smoking or exercise for 30 minutes. Empty your bladder first.
  3. Sit right and rest five minutes. Back supported, feet flat, legs uncrossed, arm on a table at chest height, cuff on bare skin. Rest 5 minutes.
  4. Take two readings. Stay quiet and take two readings, one or two minutes apart.
  5. Write both down. Write the date, time and both readings in your log, every time.
  6. Repeat at the same time daily. Measure at the same time each day, as often as your health care team says.
  7. Take the log to your doctor. Bring the log to your doctor and ask what the numbers mean and how often to check.

If it stalls

  • If the first reading looks high, don't panic and don't skip the second one. Rest, take it, and write both down.
  • If you keep forgetting, set a daily phone alarm and leave the cuff and log on the table where you'll see them.
Days logged · two readings each
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date