Taking your blood pressure at home

(hey! the date should read December 20th - don't believe everything you read. :-)

Are you at risk for high blood pressure? Do you have high blood pressure? If so, you may have considered buying an at-home blood pressure machine. Is it worth the cost? According to this study Measuring blood pressure at home lowers drug need http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2007/12/18/eline/links/20071218elin026.html, it’s possible.

Many people who want to buy a blood pressure machine worry about buying the right one. Of course, you want to buy a reliable machine, but what is more important than the type of machine is how you take it and that you take it consistently with the same machine. No matter how good your machine is, it’s not the same as the one in the pharmacy or in your doctor’s office, so it’s highly unlikely that you will get the same readings. As well, you are probably more relaxed at home than at the office, so that can give different readings as well.

So, what’s important then? The MayoClinic.com has a good write-up on how to do home blood pressure monitoring. They stress some important issues that may not be brought up when someone is shopping around. Think about it for a moment – should someone who weighs 250 pounds be using the same blood pressure cuff size as the person who weighs 105 pounds? Of course not. And, if you have trouble seeing well, then a machine with small, hard to read numbers isn’t going to be any good for you.

Your pharmacist is a good source of information for things like this. They are professionals that are trained, not only in dispensing medication, but in providing advice for health prevention and management. Use this resource – because it’s there for you to use.

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