Monitoring your high or low blood pressure on a daily basis and maintaining a simple blood pressure log is an excellent way to protect yourself from the outcomes of an abnormal blood pressure. The numbers can be used to draw a chart showing how your ranges over a period of time. You can monitor your own blood pressure at home with a home monitoring unit available at most pharmacies. Keep a chart of your readings and bring it to your doctor's office for your next visit.
You should make a chart with the following columns.
Date: - Of course, this is the date you took your blood pressure.
Time: - It is important to take your blood pressure at least two times a day. Be sure to include am or pm.
Systolic: - this is the top reading and is normally larger than the bottom reading. You want this number to be less than 120.
Diastolic: - this is the lower reading and is normally smaller than the top reading. You should keep this number below 80.
Pulse: - Record the number of beats over a 60 second period if your monitor does not provide you with this information. Be sure to let the doctor know the time period for this measurement.
Remarks: - You should state how you felt (if you was not feeling good), how long it had been since you ate, etc.
This chart should be kept over a minimum of one week. You should wait at least 30 minutes after eating before taking your readings. You should also wait about 2 hours if you had caffeine at your meal. Caffeine has a tendency to cause your pressure to be slightly elevated for a short period. You should also wait at least 30 minutes after a stressful situation before taking a reading.
If you or your doctor suspects you may have high blood pressure you should perform this simple task of creating a log. From this log your doctor could determine what steps you need to take to lower your blood pressure.
