Blood-Pressure Monitoring at Home

More than 100 million Americans should be monitoring their blood pressure at home, according to three major health organizations that are issuing at home blood pressuremonitoring.Hypertension is a blood pressure reading greater than 140 over 90. Pre-hypertension is a reading higher than 120/80, the desired level, but just below 140/90.

Some of the specific recommendations include:

Patients should purchase a blood pressure monitor with cuffs that fit on the upper arm.Wrist monitors are not recommended.
Two or three readings should be taken at a time, one minute apart, while resting in a seated position. The arm should be supported, with the upper arm at heart level and feet on the floor.Readings should be taken at the same time every day, as recommended by a health-care provider.The target goal is a reading under 135/85, or less than 130/80 in high-risk individuals.The home monitoring recommendations open the door to a totally new way of controlling blood pressure, Oparil said.
Source: usnews.com