How to take Blood Pressure

What do I need to do before I measure my blood pressure?

• Start by taking the blood pressure in both arms. It is common for blood pressure readings to differ by as much as 10 points. If the readings stay consistently similar, your doctor may suggest you use the arm with the higher reading. Ask your doctor what range your blood pressure should be and what to do should your blood pressure become too high or too low. Here are some other guidelines:
• Don't use caffeine, alcohol, or tobacco or plenty of water 30 minutes before measuring your blood pressure.
• Go to the bathroom before measuring your blood pressure and empty your bladder.
• 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 arm, raised to the level of your heart, on a table or a desk, and sit still.
• Wrap the correctly sized 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. Remember you should not wrap cuff on your shirt, cuff should always be wraped around your arm skin.
• Be certain that the bottom edge of the cuff is 1 inch above the crease of your elbow.

How do I use an aneroid monitor?

1. Put the stethoscope ear pieces into your ears, with the ear pieces facing forward. Rest assure that stethoscope is working properly by checking it by knocking at its diaphragm by finger.
2. Place the stethoscope disk on the inner side of the crease of your elbow.
3. Rapidly inflate the cuff by squeezing the rubber bulb to 30 to 40 points higher than your last systolic reading. Inflate the cuff rapidly, not just a little at a time. Inflating the cuff too slowly will cause a false reading.
4. Slightly loosen the valve and slowly let some air out of the cuff. Deflate the cuff by 2 to 3 millimeters per second. If you loosen the valve too much, you won't be able to determine your blood pressure unless you are so expert like doctors.
5. As you let the air out of the cuff, you will begin to hear your heartbeat. Listen carefully for the first sound. Check the blood pressure reading by looking at the pointer on the dial. This number will be your systolic pressure.
6. Continue to deflate the cuff. Listen to your heartbeat. You will hear your heartbeat stop at some point. Check the reading on the dial. This number is your diastolic pressure.
7. Write down your blood pressure, putting the systolic pressure before the diastolic pressure (for example, 120/80).
8. If you want to repeat the measurement, wait 2 to 3 minutes before reinflating the cuff.
9. So when you take BP, first sound that appears will show your systolic BP, and BP at which this sound disappears will be your diastolic BP.