Monitoring your blood pressure at home
Why should I monitor my blood pressure at home?
Home blood pressure monitoring provides a measurement of a person's blood pressure at different times and in different environments, such as at home and at work, throughout the day. It may be done to:
- Help establish the diagnosis of high blood pressure.
- Monitor the effects of medicine taken to lower blood pressure.
- Help people with high blood pressure to see the effects of medicines or lifestyle changes on their blood pressure. Home monitoring can help people feel more involved in and more in control of their own health care.
- Help diagnose low blood pressure that may be caused by irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), certain medicines, or other medical conditions.
- Monitor the blood pressure of people who are taking medicines, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), that can cause episodes of high pressure.
Blood pressure normally fluctuates from day to day and even from minute to minute depending on activity, posture, temperature, diet, medicines, and emotional and physical state.
Home blood pressure monitoring is most effective when the person also records in a diary his or her daily activities, such as the time when medicine is taken or when a stressful event occurs. This record of activities can help explain an unusual blood pressure reading and help the doctor adjust medicine dosages accurately.
Some people experience a significant rise in blood pressure only when they are in a doctor's office. This is called "white-coat hypertension," and it probably is caused by anxiety about the doctor visit. By monitoring blood pressure at home, these people can often find out whether their blood pressure readings generally are lower when they are not in the doctor's office. In some cases, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) also may be done to help diagnose white-coat hypertension.
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Taking my blood pressure at home helps diagnose whether I have high blood pressure and helps monitor the effects of my medicine.
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| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: April 24, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition | |
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