Free checklist
The Home Blood Pressure Checklist
How you sit, what you did in the half hour before, and where the cuff sits all change the number you get. These are the steps the American Heart Association gives for taking a reading at home.
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Before you measure
Skip coffee, exercise and smoking for 30 minutes
The AHA asks you to avoid all three for at least 30 minutes before you measure.
Use the bathroom first
A full bladder can change your reading. Empty it before you start.
Sit still for 5 minutes
Sit quietly for at least 5 minutes before the first reading. Do not use the time to answer messages.
How to sit
Put your back against the chair
Sit with your back supported. A dining chair works better than a sofa.
Both feet flat on the floor
Keep your feet flat and do not cross your legs.
Rest your arm on a table
The arm wearing the cuff should sit on a flat surface, like a table.
Stay quiet while it runs
Do not talk during the reading.
The cuff
Put it on bare skin
Roll your sleeve up or take your arm out. Do not put the cuff over clothes.
Sit it just above your elbow bend
The cuff goes directly above the bend of your arm.
Pull it snug and even
It should be equally snug at the top edge and the bottom edge.
Check the size
Cuff size matters. The AHA says the inner bladder should be 75 to 100 percent as long as the distance around your arm, and 37 to 50 percent as wide. If your monitor came with one cuff and your arm is large or small, look at what other sizes the maker offers.
How many readings
Two in the morning, two at night
Take 2 readings at least 1 minute apart in the morning, before any blood pressure medicine, and 2 more at least 1 minute apart in the evening.
Keep it up for 7 days
The AHA prefers 7 days or more, which comes to 28 readings or more. If you cannot manage that, 3 days, or 12 readings, may be enough.
Write every one down
Record each reading, not just the ones you like. The pattern is the useful part, and one number on its own does not say much.
Where this comes from
American Heart Association. Measurement of Blood Pressure in Humans: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Hypertension. 2019;73(5):e35-e66.
Read the statementThis checklist is about how to take a reading. It is not medical advice. It does not tell you what your numbers mean and it does not tell you to change any treatment. Talk to your doctor about your readings and never change medicine on your own.
Got the technique sorted? The next part is keeping the numbers. See how BP Central does it.