Blood Pressure machine gave me three different readings…?
So I park my car at the local wal-mart and walk directly to the blood pressure machine. I sit down, press start and the first reading is 139/86. Then I immediately restart it and get a reading of 126/75. Then I immediately restart it again and get a third reading of 112/68.
Whats the deal? Which reading should I trust? Was my blood pressure elevated at first because I had walked from the parking lot to the machine?
taking the BP repeatedly in the same arm should have made the readings go up…not down.
Next time have your BP checked by a trained personal, and that the machine is properly caliberated.
February 05 2010 10:08 pm | blood pressure machines
February 6th, 2010 at 3:25 am
Yes, typically you need to relax before taking a reading. The readings will still not be the same, but the range should be less. Take the average of the three readings if you want to be more accurate.
You can affect the readings if you were just doing something active, being highly emotional or even just having a normal conversation where you laugh a bit.
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February 6th, 2010 at 4:07 am
First of all you should wait and let your pressure reset after exercising before you take it. Second, after you take it in your arm (it acts like a tourniquet) If you want to check it again, do it in the other arm. Your blood pressure is constantly changing, so it should fluctuate. The diastolic of 86 is the only thing I would watch, It doesn’t seem bad if you just ran in from the parking lot. Just watch it.
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February 6th, 2010 at 4:56 am
LOL…. well, I guess I should tell you that BP reading should not be taken one right after the other. The constriction of the cuff causes a physical reaction and you have to wait a couple minutes before doing another reading. Additionally the cuff on those machines is an average cuff size. If it was too big or too small for you it would give you inaccurate readings. Plus it is just a machine in store, they are not always the most accurate.
As far as the walk in from the car, it could have elevated your systolic BP(the top number), but activity has little effect on the diastolic BP(the bottom number). A diastolic pressure over 80 is now classified as pre-hypertensive. Seeing as your first reading may be accurate, this might be the time to visit you doctor and have your blood pressure evaluated. Many older doctors do not consider anything near 120/80 as a health risk, but the most recent standards require some sort of intervention to begin at 120/80(now termed pre-hypertensive).
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February 6th, 2010 at 5:22 am
Walmart has the least accurate machines. take your bp for 2 weeks and take the results to your doctor.
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February 6th, 2010 at 5:32 am
The blood pressure machines in Wal-Mart and other places like that are usually not too accurate. They lose adjustment easily because of the different sizes of the arm. A larger upper arm needs a larger cuff to get a true reading. Blood pressure does fluctuate several times a day. It should be higher after exercise such as walking and come down with sitting quietly and remaining still and breathing normally. You should be sitting quietly for at least 4 minutes to get a more accurate reading.
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February 6th, 2010 at 6:12 am
Next time have your BP checked by a trained personal, and that the machine is properly caliberated.
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I am a doctor.