B.P. Monitoring

Hello everyone, I am rather new to things to do with heart failure. I've been told that I have a problem with the left ventricle working poorly. I ve had tests and am on a load of medication. Also I've been taking my blood pressure. But my problem is that I don't know what is a good or bad pressure for someone with my condition. I know what it should be for a fit and healthy person. I am neither any longer. I was told to take it three times and take notice of the middle reading but I can get wildly different results for each reading from 130 to 113 to 99. And advice would be welcome.

[Lezzers]

Hi borderers, there is no one size fits all when it comes to BP, though a lot of your medication will automatically keep your blood pressure down, some people function very well on low BP whereas others dont. Unless your BP is very low or you're having symptoms such as dizzyness, then I think low is ok. But your BP can change by the minute as it's affected by what you were doing before taking a reading, how much you're drinking during the day, how long you've rested before taking a reading, etc. Can I ask who told you to take your BP 3 times daily? Have you been asked to supply an average BP reading to your medical team?

[Hidden in reply to Lezzers]

Thanks for the reply Lezzers. Sorry to mislead as I was told that when I take my bp I should take it three times instead of once and take the middle reading, not three times in the day. That's what confused me as the readings can change a lot within a couple of minutes. I did wonder how reliable these bp monitors are. I take your point about how different people react to low blood pressure. I get a bit dizzy from time to time but mostly not. Thanks again

[Lezzers in reply to Hidden]

Sorry, its me thats misread read your post, you didn't mention daily at all! 🙄 Does your monitor have an upper arm cuff or wrist cuff, the upper arm is more accurate definitely taking it 3 times in succession it would give different values especially if taking it can be a bit stressful for you. Also, I always leave it at least 5 mins before taking another reading, I think the HF nurse told us that. Have you mentioned to your medical team that you get a bit dizzy, they may be able to tweak your meds. If it's a case of getting dizzy when you get up from a chair etc then you could try getting up slowly, bit by bit, and see if that helps.

[Hidden in reply to Lezzers]

Thanks again. I'll give it 5 mins between each test like you suggest. My cardiac nurse does know and has suggested some changes so hopefully things get better.

[Lezzers in reply to Hidden]

Fingers crossed 🤞 for you

[Joliv61]

Some monitors can be set up to do the three readings automatically.mine does this at 2 minute intervals. So I sit down and chill for 5-10 minutes beforehand, then set the monitor going, and relax my breathing for the 6 or so minutes it all takes.Lots of things can affect your readings, needing a wee for example..always seem to need to go when I want to take my readings. Doing some strenuous exercise affects it, eating a meal or having something to drink too.

I tend to leave 30 mins at least before taking my blood pressure.

Also do you just take it in the morning? I do mine a few times a day when I need to provide some readings for the gp.

As Lezzers says, there’s no one value which is ok for everyone.

👍👍

[Hidden in reply to Joliv61]

Thank you Joliv61, that sounds like my sort of monitor and I will chase it up. I guess I am a bit anxious about all of this since I was told my heart was not pumping very well. It seems that bp is a rough measure at best and differences in readings are to be expected.

[spinningjenny]

I was told by my GP to take three or four readings a day for a week and then take an average. All this means is noting down each reading, adding up the systolic and diastolic separately then dividing them by the number of times you took readings. Your blood pressure varies a lot throughout the day and this gives a pretty good idea of what is normal for you. Your GP can then decide if treatment is necessary.

[Hidden in reply to spinningjenny]

Hi Spinningjenny, thank you for your reply. That sounds like an excellent way to find out what is normal for each person. I have taken readings over the last couple of weeks so I will find my average and ask the nurse what she thinks. As we wear masks these days it is not always easy to read her expression. That may not be a bad thing though.

[RegularWalker]

I take my BP when I'm in bed, before I get up in the morning, so I'm relaxed. Still varies a lot.

[Hidden in reply to RegularWalker]

Thanks for getting back to me. My wife was told to take her bp first thing in the morning then late on at night. I am begining to wonder what bp readings actually tell us.