Chances are you’ll use a blood pressure monitor at home. There are various ways to use it and different times of the day to take your readings.

How to Use Your Blood Pressure Monitor

You first have to choose the type of monitor you want to buy. There are two types.

1. The Aneroid Monitor -  has a gauge that is read by looking at a pointer on a dial. The cuff is placed around your upper arm and inflated by hand, by squeezing a rubber bulb.
2. Digital – these monitors have either manual or automatic cuffs. The blood pressure reading flashes on a small screen.

The aneroid monitor is slightly cheaper than the digital, past that it’s really a matter of preference. The aneroid monitor requires more hands on where as the digital is more automated. Look around and try each on for size, consider if it’s just for home use or you will take it when you travel.

There are a few things you need to do before you take your blood pressure.

• Don’t eat or use caffeine, alcohol, or tobacco products 30 minutes before measuring your blood pressure.
• Go to the bathroom and empty your bladder before measuring your blood pressure.
• Rest for 3 to 5 minutes before measuring your blood pressure. Do not talk.
• Sit in a comfortable position, with your legs and ankles uncrossed and your back supported.
• Place your left arm, raised to the level of your heart, on a table or a desk, and sit still.
• Wrap the cuff smoothly and snugly around the upper part of your bare arm. The cuff should fit snugly, but there should be enough room for you to slip one fingertip under the cuff.
• Check to see that the bottom edge of the cuff is 1 inch above the crease of your elbow.

It will be repetitive to state what will be in the instructions, but generally the aneroid monitor will require you to do more manual work (as you see what the nurse does at your Doctors) versus the digital. If the digital monitor is semiautomatic you’ll have to inflate the cuff and then the monitor will automatically release and take readings on the way down.

How to Check the Accuracy of Your Blood Pressure Monitor

You should check your monitor at least once a year.

The easiest way is to take it to your Doctors office. This is the perfect time to let them teach you how to use it. Also, they can compare your monitor against there’s. If all is well take your monitor back once a year for a check-up, the Doctors device is calibrated more often and is a good way to check the accuracy of your blood pressure monitor.

Occasionally check the plastic tubes and cuffs for cracks or leaks. Any small air leaking from your monitor will cause inaccurate readings. Heat is also an enemy of these devices, this is due to the plastic and rubber used to make them. Thinking about these factors, you may want to include the type of warranty each manufacturer gives you when choosing one to purchase.

What do the Readings Mean?

The normal blood pressure reading is 120/80, going below this puts you into a low blood pressure condition and moving upwards starts you in the direction of prehypertension symptoms.

If your readings on the upside are averaging 140-159/90-99 you need to see your doctor. Your entering a stage 1 high blood pressure category, this needs attention.

Just for your information, here’s what all these numbers mean when your using the monitor.

• Systolic pressure is the highest pressure in an artery when your heart is pumping blood to your body.
• Diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure in an artery when your heart is at rest.
• Blood pressure measurement is made up of both the systolic and the diastolic pressure. It is normally written like this: 120/80, with the systolic (top) number first.

If your outside the normal range, there is help, there are natural ways to lower your blood pressure. You might need high blood pressure drugs for immediate care, but keep in mind using monitors and learning some natural remedies will be your best long term cure.

Blood Pressure Monitors for Home Use

For your convenience, take a look at some of the more popular monitors at Amazon.

As you can see there’s quite a few to choose from, you can definitely find one to fit your needs.