Q: Any time I take my blood pressure,It starts from as high as 160 over 95,decreases gradually and return to the normal level after about third reading,it goes down to as low as 124 over 82 and stay low .Any need to worry?
A: You should average your three readings assuming you are taking your pressure about 5 minutes apart. If your average is greater than 139/89, see your doctor. If your average is in the prehypertension range, greater120/80 but less than 140/90, consider yourself warned. Make all appropriate lifestyle changes.
(12 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
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I take several readings thruoghout the day and was averaging them. However, my heart doc told me this was not the correct way to measure blood pressure. He told me to only look at the lowest reading for the day. Which, method is correct or more valid?
I think the doctors advice is valid. You want to go with 3 readings 5 minutes apart AFTER resting for 5 minutes before the first reading. Do not sit down after being active and take the first rerading right away. If the first reading is out of whack, dismiss it and take another. With this 3 reading average, write this number down and note the time it was taken. Do this once in the morning and again in the evening. Keep a log or better yet a spreadsheet that averages the numbers over a month. The monthly average is your average blood pressure. I also keep tabs on my heart rate as it is a good guage of cardiovascular health and fitness
I read a British medical site that explained how to take your blood pressure at home. They said, if your BP goes down, as you take it,don’t average the numbers, but rather, keep taking it until it stops dropping, then use that lowest number.
I am in my 80s and a very fit, active and healthy vegetarian male working full time. My chlorestoral is 3.9, I have no trace of diabetes and my blood pressure at rest is typically about 102/62. At a recent annual check up at our local hospital, the systolic blood pressure figure was 106. Tthe nurse warned me not to let it gat any lower. Should I take notice of this warning and, if so, why and how?
How is the proper way to take blood pressure at home? Can it be taken, several readings, during, say, a 15 minute period?
Or does it require morning/afternoon/evening readings which would be averaged?
I also get occasional low readings. They worry that if the blood pressure gets low you are at risk for fainting…and that means falling and getting hurt. If that is a genuine risk for you, you probably would notice some brief dizziness when you get up quickly. If you do not have any symptoms of that nature, maybe it is not a real problem.
That is a very good blood pressure. They now say the closer to 90/60 the better which is getting a bit too stingent I think. With that benchmark, we’ll all be hypertensive! My doctor tells me to keep the diastolic over 60. I generally run about 115/65. If the diastolic drops below 60 it’s considered low BP and can cause lightheadedness and/or fainting. If you feel lightheaded, simply consume more water to add fluid volume to the blood. This should increase the BP.
I just read an article that said a recent study indicated SLIGHTLY elevated BP may be good for the elderly as it helps pump blood to the brain, etc. I guess as we age it is harder to get blood to the necessary organs.
Yes, I’ve heard that too. The reason is, or so I believe, that as the blood vessels get less flexible it may need higher blood pressure just to keep the blood pumping through. It does make sense; If an older person pinches the back of their hands, the skin sticks and does not spring back as quickly as that in a young person. I figured if this is what may happen with our old blood vessels than higher blood pressure may be needed indeed. I have a very low resting heart rate and also was told to keep an eye on it. When older a very low resting heart rate may not be a sign of fitness anymore and may indicate bradychardia. Don’t know whether this makes me a candidate for a pacemaker in the future. I keep an eye on it, though.
For some,such as myself,it is not a good idea to take to many reading during the day and every day. Why? Because if it is high the first reading than you are going to worry and that will make it go higher. You blood pressure goes up and down through out the day . Worry or stress,certain foods,etc will make it go up.I take my blood pressure reading about once a month at home and when I go to the doctor. My syn is usualy 5 points higher at the doctor than at home. At home it is about 130/76 unless i’m under a lot of stress at which time I don’t take it.My dentist has a new rule to take everybodies blood pressure before any procedure. Mine is168/90 at the dentist. My dentist is a fool because he takes my blood pressure with a wrist monitor and I’m laid back in a denal chair. naturally i’ts going to be high!
I have the same problem Jerry. BP spikes in the dental office due to the white coat syndrome. Anxiety and stress do have a big effect as you elude to. I don’t what the purpose of this is but as far as I’m concerned they have no business knowing this as it’s between me and my doctor. Of course one is not going to be relaxed all rigged up in a dental chair. This is not a relaxed environment.
I understand why dentists would want to know the blood pressure of their patients, just to be on the ‘safe’ side in case something goes wrong. But I also believe the ‘standard’ of messuring blood pressure is to have rested, sit in a comfortable chair, back supported, arm elevated at heart level and, that if ill or stressed, the measurement may be affected. So, your dentist is going to tell you you need root canal therapy and a crown and the whole procedure may be a bit painful, more than one consultation needed, and it will cost you two thousand dollars, and then he proceeds to take your blood pressure! No wonder blood pressure is high at the dentist’s!
I do have high blood pressue; I got fat after an injury; mostly lying about eating and watching tv. I was at group health when a nurse said do you know that your BP is 170/100; I said yes; they sent for a cardiologist and I went through a quadmire of tests an EKG, over two days. Finally he got back to me; he said you are 60 lbs over weight; your heart is in near perfect condition; your oxygen level is 99/100%; your kidneys and liver are working very fine indeed; your BP is high due to your weight; even your veins appear to be clean. At this time I was 51 yrs old; I weighed
272 and I am a very known farmer; I used to forget to take my medication; especially when the sun was out; so a few months later, at the end of the month. I noticed I had five days left; two days later; I went to the ER because I always know when my BP is up; it was 214/117; I went out and bought a half gallon of water and drank 70% before being seen; at being seen; BP was 156/88. Yes I have WhiteCoat; it just goes up at any med facility. I decided I should quit smoking; you know for my health!! I quit smoking and gained 60 lbs on top of being overweight 272+60 and a few extra pounds; tho my cardiologist told me not to take my BP
and that my Pulse was a better indicator to see if something is wrong. Before I go my BP is 138/77; after I get to my yearly physical, in patient (mine) is 160/
92. So WhiteCoat does matter and matter to many people.
Word of Caution; if your going to quit smoking; loss weight before hand because Quitting Smoking can be Haszardous to your health too. I never should have quit; I have more problems now then before…
In response to how to read your BP. After two years of taking my BP from 7:00 A.M. until about 11:00 P.M. on average every 2 1/2 hours it was decided I had an obsessive compulsion sysdrome!. As phanatical as I was all my Dr.’s told me to take it only once or twice a day as I fluctuated between160/105 to as low as 90/65 and was only on Diovan 80 twice a day. No other meds. I noted everything from the effects of alcohol (hard), wine, steak & potato meals, veggie meals, the great benefit of Cialis which really dropped my BP into the double digit areas (great pill). Then I got into a research study where I was put on a 24 hour monitor three different times about six weeks apart, they flat lined me to readings with zero medication (Diov) and then the effects of gradual increases of 5mg every two weeks back up to 80 mg twice a day. ALL of their BP readings were based upon three readings within 15 minutes, sitting relaxed, subtracting the first reading and averaging the last two doing it twice each day 12 hours apart. ALL of us used in the study used the same schedule. I was eventually disqualified because my blood pressure average was around 130/85. For a 68 year old male that walks 30 minutes after sunset every evening (some exceptions) and does Marcy cable weights three times a week for about an average of 11/2 hours as I skip back and forth on the computer during the W/O. Dr’s concluded my sitting in front of the computer for more than 45 min or one hr. of T.V. without getting up and moving around could shave years off my longevity! They seriously doubt I will die of a BP relaed illness!
I’m using medication to control my hypertension. Recently I was put on coumadin to control the potential of a blood clot in my calf area from causing a serious problem. Strangely, my blood pressure readings went from an average of 140/80 to 130/73. Looking through medical texts on the internet, I didn’t see explanation for this drop in BP. On the negative side, blood test readings for my liver did show a significant rise which is now being closely monitored, and food and liquids known to help lower my cholesterol are not recommended. This mixed bag of good and bad bothers me.
I am running 146 or o over 92 on lissenapril 40mg an also taking armour thyroid dr said both t3 and t4 are good but wants to put me on a water pill everytime I take it I get leg cramps.. also want to know if taking bp @ drs office and they use the automatic bp machine. it just kills my arm no wonder its high (pain) I never get an answer just wants to give me more meds ideas??? thanks
An undocumented feature of the Omron (Model BP 742) blood pressure monitor (for the upper arm) is that, if your device is sampling your blood pressure at a rate more often than 10 minutes per interval, press the “back up” button and there won’t be a time/date stamp on the readout. But the device will log it automatically. (Just without the time/date stamp.) If you don’t press the “back up” button, the reading won’t be logged. But the folks at Omron forgot to include a means of calibrating the device against atmospheric pressure. (Yes, atmospheric pressure actually does make a difference, and if you are worried, you can log it yourself with a digital barometer.) For my own use, there isn’t that much of a difference. Readings are always very much same. I am a physically active male, age 52, weight 170 pounds, and regularly walk 7 to 8 miles every other day, at a speed of 3.5 mph, with a total elevation change of 2,000 feet. I take no drugs whatsoever. For pH control I take Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or Folic acid. I avoid salt and monosodium glutamate. I cannot take drugs because of religious objections.
I also have the Omron model BP742 and you point out an interesting point about atmospheric pressure effect on accuracy. As an extension to this question, I would assume the device may also not be calibrated to account for the differences in partial pressure at high altitude. For example, in using the device in Colorado spring at an elevation of 7,000, where the atmospheric pressure is reduced.
Hi There How are you doing? I’m writing in regards just inquiry about the best medication for high pressure much better than this very bad one lisinopril’s and what is the difference between Lisinopril and Cilazapril? Thanks, Kindest Regards Samir Barguth