Taking BP at home

When taking your BP at home, should you take the average of, say, 3 readings, or just the last reading?

[Calliope153]

My GP asks for the average of 3 readings.

[Hidden in reply to Calliope153]

Thanks for reply. And twice a day / morning and evening? The nurse I see is not very forthcoming 😉

[Calliope153 in reply to Hidden]

Yes but only for a week prior to the appointment....... not as arduous as it sounds. If I am having a bad day and bp high I make a note of date and do two readings for that day.

[Rose54]

Hi

I just do one as the more I do the more stressed I get so it goes up .

The only time I would do 2 is if I was concerned as I know I need reassurance and to calm down if its a bit higher than normal .

[Hidden in reply to Rose54]

It is stressful, isn’t it? Mine is very slowly coming down on Ramipril. Still waiting for an angiogram / trying not to think about it every waking moment 😀

[Rose54 in reply to Hidden]

Hi

Try not to get stressed if thay thought you where at real risk thay would not have allowed you to come home.

I'm a real coward and I can assure you the procedure is nothing to worry about .

Try a u tube relaxation video thay really do help calm you and lower blood presure.

[Hidden in reply to Rose54]

Thanks Rose! I did have an angiogram a few years ago - turned out to be a “false positive” (= ok). Not looking forward to the actual procedure (though huge bruise last time 😟), but what they might find! Got a letter about it today - been waiting since Dec 16 - angiogram on March 2.

[seasider18 in reply to Hidden]

I had three false positives between 1993 and 2011. After the first one I wanted to bet them that it was another false positive but they wouldn't take it.

Now they have changed tack and I had the first stage nuclear heart scan last week and the second one this week

[lettingoffsteam]

I take mine three times and record all the readings a couple of times a week.That's quite a lot I know but it gives me peace of mind as my bp was absolutely off the scale dangerous when diagnosed and now it is at normal levels so I'm keen to keep it that way.

[Hidden in reply to lettingoffsteam]

That’s good that your BP is normal now - I guess you’re on meds?

I’ve just taken mine this evening and it’s 127/84, which is the lowest ever! Yay! It was 166/101

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Hidden]

That's good...mine was 244/133!!!Latest 24 hour bp measure was 119/73.I'm on ramipril and amlodipine both at 5mg.

[Hidden in reply to lettingoffsteam]

Crikey - I don’t think my machine even goes up that high! Great you’ve got it down so much.

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Hidden]

No I'd never heard of bp that high either.It earned me a five day stay in hospital though!😕Anyway, under control at the moment.

[Hidden in reply to lettingoffsteam]

5 days! And was your angiogram ok? Mine is on March 2

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Hidden]

I haven't had any results on that yet.I had a ct angiogram.Is that what you're having?

[Hidden in reply to lettingoffsteam]

The letter says coronary angiography - where they insert a tube in your groin, etc.....

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Hidden]

Ah OK, invasive then.They injected iodine in before they scanned me.I had to take a max dose of metoprolol to lower my heart rate below 60 and gtn spray to open things up.Not exactly a top experience.Do you get angina? I was getting burning sensations when I first started on my meds but that's far less frequent and just mild now.I have a slightly off ecg as well.The cardiologist says that's probably due to my slightly thickened heart (lvh) due to the high bp but he wanted to check, especially in the light of the burning feeling.He also said they could keep my lvh under control by keeping my bp good...hence the 24 hour bp check.

[Hidden in reply to lettingoffsteam]

I had chest pain a few years ago - hence the angiogram then, but nothing found then, other than irregular heartbeat. Had chest pain just before Christmas this last year / A and E / hence echocardiogram, BP meds and now angiogram. But I feel ok, apart from anxious!

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Hidden]

Best to be checked out I suppose.At least they are being thorough.Stress can make things worse though.

[seasider18 in reply to lettingoffsteam]

Do you suffer from indigestion ? When mine is bad my BP is always high and I think that there is a vagus nerve connection.

[lettingoffsteam in reply to seasider18]

That's interesting how the two systems interact.I used to get palpitations after a big meal which I think is fairly common.

[stevejb1810]

My wife’s cardiologist says to take it three times with about a minute between, ignore the first reading and record the 2nd 2 readings. I think this is more about relaxing before taking meaningful readings (being less relaxed for the first than for subsequent) than a fixed ‘must do’. In hospital the usually take it once!

[Hidden]

Thanks Steve - yes, that’s what I'm doing now. I was just taking it once previously and I suspect I’ve been recording higher than it was. Never mind, feel better that it’s down now.

[Gaz0161]

Hi Molly , was told to take two readings a minute apart and relax between them and take the 2nd reading

[Hidden]

Thanks Gaz - that’s what I’m doing now - and getting better results! Phew!

[seasider18]

The Hypertension Clinic tells me to take three readings three times a day over a ten minute period. As I have AF to believe them if two out of the three are close. Mostly the first one is high and the next two lower.

I always cover the screen so that I don't watch the reading in progress though I usually have a pretty good idea from the tightness of the cuff.

[thehypnotist]

My surgery said nothing, even when I asked!! My Bps been all over the place since they changed my meds. So when I do a record, for my benefit, not theirs, I do a best of 3 usually when I'm rested and just once if I'm doing it after some exertion! I say that in the comments section.