Blood Pressure Machines Guide

Taking your blood pressure?

when taking blood pressure at home (home monitoring), which is more accurate, the arm (brachial) or the wrist (radial)?

regardless if its digital or manual apparatus

I had a radial meter but my GP suggested I get a brachial meter to monitor my BP at home as they are more accurate. I picked up a digital one at Lloyds Chemists for under a tenner a couple of months ago.

My friend who is a nurse also said brachial gives a more accurate reading than the wrist types.

Can anxiety keep your blood pressure elevated for several hours?

I had a sensation on the top of my head like a warm burning feeling, I thought my blood pressure might be high. We were going out to eat so I could not check it. I kept having that feeling through our meal until we got home. I did not think I was anxious and did not even say anything to my husband about it, I tried to keep my mind off of it. When we got home my blood pressure checked 171/100 with a wrist monitor. Then I check with an arm cuff and it was 171/ 91. I sat down had my daughter get a bath and it did come down into the 150’s over 90’s. I took my daughter upstairs to bed and checked it again and it read 180/102, but came down again to 150’s/90’s within a couple of minutes. I usually don’t have high blood pressure, sometimes in the 130’s or 140’s with activity. I do have anxiety. Could these spikes cause something serious to happen? I hate anxiety. This happens to me when I am not even anxious, but then it makes me anxious and blood pressure gets high and sometimes heart rate too.

Yes, I had severe anxiety last week. Omg If I wasn’t on my blood pressure medicine I probably would of had a stroke.

Reliable blood pressure Monitor ? ?

i need a device to measure blood pressure which i could trust – i have two devices one wrist that show what they want and i understand fluctuations are normal but the results i get i do not trust. they both pump air and this technology seems obsolete – is there something i can trust and easy to use out there?

I work for the ambulance service & use an inexpensive bp monitor from Lloyds to check my families pressure at home. I’ve tried it against the work issue ones & there’s not a deal of difference. You will get differing results from different monitors, don’t be alarmed by this. Your blood pressure will also fluctuate depending on your position, standing or sitting, your mood & even the time of day. Don’t expect it to be consistent. If you have cause for concern keep a diary of your bp and the time you took it but use one monitor consistently don’t mix & match, then have a word with your GP & see what they think. All the best D

Is my heart rate normal?

Well, both of my parents have high blood pressure so i was told by the doctor to keep an eye on mine. So i bought a Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor and began to take my pressure weekly. On the monitor it also checks the heart rate. When i started taking my pressure my heart rate was between 50 and 65, but recently i have noticed that it had begin to go up and down so i started taking it everyday. The past few days it has been between 105 and 115. I don’t know why it could have gone up so much so soon because im not overweight and i haven’t been stressing. Is it ok for it to go up that much?

You need to have been sitting quietly, not talking, no activity for 10 minutes before you believe any number that comes up on these machines. And, if you drink soda or any product that has caffeine in it, it will also elevate your heart rate. Continue to monitor your heart rate but only when you have been quiet for the required period of time.

What do the numbers on the blood pressure monitor mean?

I decided to try on my mom’s blood pressure monitor for fun. I held my wrist slightly above heart level, stayed still and breathed evenly.

next to the first number, it says SYS. mmHg
Next to the second number, it says DIA. mmHg
Last is the pulse

my numbers were 90, 54 then 90 again
what do these mean?
By the way, I’m 16. I’m 5′5" and 105 pounds. Thanks for all the response- very informative!

Those numbers measure basically the pressures in your arteries during your cardiac cycle. Your systolic or top number measures the pressure when your heart is beating or contracting. This pushes blood through. The diastolic or bottom number measures the pressure in between beats or while your heart is at rest. Also your blood vessels can also contract or expend depending on the situation like temperature or if your scared, etc. Your pulse measures how many times your heart beats in one minute. For an adult you are looking for a blood pressure of 120/80 and a pulse 60 to 80.

how do i use a wrist blood pressure monitor?

These type of Bp machines are of little benefit better are the ones you use on your arm for a better more accurate reading.
The Wrist ones are not the choice of professionals.

Why am I getting conflicting blood pressure readings?

I am a 37-year-old female. Hypertension runs high in my family, but usually later in life (like the 50’s). Nevertheless, I have a blood pressure monitor at home and the readings range from 104/70 to 115/75. At my gyno’s office the other day, the reading was 114/70; however, several days later at my GI doc’s office, they took the reading on my wrist and it read 150/94! What is the deal here? (It may be worth it to note that the GI doc’s office staff are very rude and make me very angry when I go in there, so I’m thinking that’s why my B/P reads so high over there, but is fine elsewhere.)

You are probably right. Many people get what is called "White Coat Hypertension", whenever they go to the doctor their BP runs high, this is quite normal.

Your BP varies from day to day and from hour to hours. One high reading doesn’t mean you have hypertension. Your readings are excellent, keep doing whatever it is you are doing. Since hypertension runs in your family you are doing the right thing by monitoring it.

Try to stay calm at the doctor’s office. If the situation is too much for you to handle, change doctors. That might be the best thing for your health.

I might have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia), does that also effect blood pressure?

Hi : )

I have been having a rapid heart increase upon standing for about 6 months now. The heart rate raises from 20 to 30 beats upon standing just about every time I stand.
It also seems to race while laying down just after I roll over after having been asleep. It does that every time, I roll over from one side to the other and it jumps 20 to 30 beats and then goes down after about 10 seconds back to normal which is about 60 beats while laying down.
My heart rate also goes way up and stays up when I am in the sun and it also goes up while I am in a hot shower. When in the sun or a hot shower it goes all the way up between 140 and 160 beats per minute.
While those sound to me like POTS, I am uncertain about the blood pressure. I know you are supposed to take your blood pressure while sitting down, but it is when I am standing that I feel the symptoms so I take it while standing on numerous occasions and it is always high(at least I think it is, can you please tell me?).
While I am standing and I take it it is pretty much consistent at 143/87 and the pulse is between 75 and 88 each time.
Occasionally the second number (Diastolic) is 90, 91, 92 and on rare occasions (about three times) I have taken it and the Diastolic is between 144/100 and 146/106 and the pulse was 86.
Sometimes drinking a lot of water seems to help keep my heart rate normal so I can stand without it jumping so high, sometimes.
If you could please answer a few questions?
First question is, does this sound like POTS or what does it sound like?
And second is does POTS raise blood pressure like what I am explaining I have?
I was just in the shower with my Dad because I take care of him and shower him and I had an episode and it really scared me.
I felt my heart acting funny so I felt my wrist for my pulse and I felt my heart just go thump, and then about three seconds later it started to beat really fast and then after about 4 seconds it went "thump" and the again about three seconds later it just took off racing again.
I got out of the shower and got my Dad safe and took my blood pressure and it was 163/96 pulse 97.
I take it with an "Omron" blood pressure monitor and I have had it calibrated at the doctors office and it is always correct in its readings.
When I lay down at night my blood pressure and heart rate is always really good, I take it in the lying down position and it is always like 106/55 and the pulse between 55 and 65 consistently.
When I take it sitting down during the day I take it right after sitting down. I know you are supposed to wait a while but I like to watch the transition from first sitting down and how fast it "normalizes".
So, when I do take it right after sitting down it is always about 143/87 pulse can vary between 70 and 90 and then each time I take it within the next 2 minutes, taking it one right after the other, it goes down each time to about 115/65 up to 121/78.
Can anyone shed any light on any tests I should have done?
I have already had a ct, a treadmill, a tomography an echo and a nuclear test and nothing has turned up.
The doctor did say he saw something in the nuclear test pictures but he couldn’t tell if it was something or not, he said the results he saw in the pictures were unequivocal explaining it could be something or it might be the picture. He said if he was a betting man he would bet it was nothing.
He said we could do an angiogram and that would really tell, but I haven’t done the angiogram yet because it sounded invasive and I wanted to read up on it.
He said an angiogram would tell if there was blockage or not and that if there was he could put a medicated stent in there.
Should I have the stent or have bypass surgery if there is blockage?
I am having a tilt table test tomorrow to see if it is POTS or if any other results show from that test.
I did smoke for many years and quit 8 years ago.
Unfortunately I also chewed tobacco for 20 years which I only quit 6 months ago. I had tests for cancer in the throat, nose and mouth and don’t have it there or anywhere else
My teeth are in bad shape and I have several cavities and my front tooth does feel like it is infected and I am having all of the cavities and the infected tooth pulled after the tilt table test.
Could my bad teeth be making my heart race and my blood pressure jump? They are pretty bad and the front one actually has an odor to it now.
I have been afraid to go to the dentist because the last time I had a tooth pulled the dentist broke a large piece of my jawbone which is why I have un-fixed teeth.
I AM going now no matter what to get my teeth fixed.
I was having PSVT symptoms before I quit chewing which is what made me quit chewing in the first place, but now that I quit chewing the sudden onset of PSVT like symptoms don’t occur anymore.
I am afraid that I have damaged the interior walls of my arteries from the constant tobacco chewing and they don’t have the elasticity (Like exercise hypertension), if
I was awake I had a dip in for over 20 years.
I’m really sorry for writing so much here.
I’m only 40 years old, I don’t smoke(anymore), don’t chew(anymore) or drink or do drugs, I weigh 195 and am 6′1 tall and I take care of my Dad who has Parkinson’s and my Mother too and they really count on me. I want to have all the info I can so I can treat this if possible whatever it is so I don’t leave them alone with no one to take care of them, plus I don’t want to die
Please, helping with any answers would make me feel better so that I have more information to ask the questions I should or if this is a common experience for people who have pots.
Heartfelt thanks for anyone who responds to my question : )

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (often referred to as just postural tachycardia syndrome or POTS) is a condition of dysautonomia, and more specifically, orthostatic intolerance, in which a change from the supine position to an upright position causes an abnormally large increase in heart rate, called tachycardia. This is often, but not always, accompanied by a fall in blood pressure.

Most POTS patients will see symptom improvement over the course of several years. Those who develop POTS in their early to mid teens during a period of rapid growth will most likely see complete symptom resolution by their mid twenties. Patients with post-viral POTS will also usually improve greatly or see a full symptom resolution. Adults who develop POTS, especially women during or after pregnancy, usually see milder improvement and can be plagued with their condition for life. Rarely, a teenager who develops POTS will gradually worsen overtime and have lifelong symptoms. Patients with secondary POTS as a consequence of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome will also usually struggle with symptoms for life.

Recovered individuals do complain of occasional, non-debilitating recurrence of symptoms associated with autonomic dysfunction including dizzy spells, lightheartedness, flushing, transient syncope, and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Tachycardia is often, but not always, accompanied by a fall in blood pressure.

Take care as always!

reliable blood pressure Monitor ?

i need a device to measure blood pressure which i could trust – i have two devices one wrist that show what they want and i understand fluctuations are normal but the results i get i do not trust. they both pump air and this technology seems obsolete – is there something i can trust and easy to use out there?

Go somewhere reputable like Boots the Chemist. The only draw back with home monitoring BP kits, is people tend to become a little too obsessed with them! You don’t need to measure your BP too frequently.

How much should blood pressure fluctuate?

I was wondering how many points is normal for blood pressure to fluctuate. Yesterday I went to my OB/GYN to have my IUD checked and was 140/100!!! It was around 10 am. and was after I had two cups of coffee and cereal bar. Today I went to get it checke in the morning again and was 150/93. I bought one of those wrist monitors and I’ve been checking during the day: 144/90; 140/88, 135/75, 116/65.
Is that normal fluctuation?

after exercise or a large meal, your blood pressure is going to be significantly different than upon waking first thing in the morning. During the workday, it is completely normal for blood pressure to rise as stress or excitement build. Because of these factors, systolic pressure, the first number can change during the day by up to 50 points, so it is important to control as many factors as possible to get accurate readings.

On another note don’t become one of these people obsessed with your bp by constantly checking it. Next thing you know you’ll have a bowel chart!