Before we look at how to use a home blood pressure digital monitor, and which ones are the best, let’s first consider what the blood pressure readings will mean. These figures are taken from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Digital Home Blood Pressure Monitors v Doctor’s sphygmomanometer

When you get your blood pressure measured at the doctor’s office, he/she will place a cuff around your upper arm, level with your heart.

The cuff is inflated, and then, while the doctor listens on his/her stethoscope placed on your arm just below the cuff, the cuff is slowly deflated. the doctor is listening out for the first signs of a "tapping sound" which signals the point when the cuffs pressure is just less than the pressure of your blood, and blood flows intermittently past the cuff during heart beat. At this point, the doctor notes the pressure on the sphygmomanometer. This is your systolic blood pressure.

The cuff continues to be deflated until the "tapping" sound completely disappears. This is the point where full blood flow has been restored, and represents your diastolic blood pressure.

Measurements taken by your doctor are the most accurate, and most reliable. However, due to a phenomenon called "White Coat Syndrome", some patients find their blood pressure raised by the mere act of visiting the doctor. I suffer from this, and find that my blood pressure is significantly lower (even normal) at home, yet at the doctor’s office, it is always high. Because of White Coat Syndrome, more and more doctors are recommending digital home blood pressure monitors for their patients.

If decide to buy a home monitor, you MUST get it checked at your doctor’s office for accuracy. These meters can be extremely accurate, but you need to check that yours is calibrated properly. All you need to do is to go and get the doctor to check your blood pressure, wait 2 minutes, and then take your blood pressure using your digital meter. The two readings should be very similar (they wont be 100% the same as blood pressure varies). Once accuracy is confirmed, you can confidently take your blood pressure at home.

Types of personal blood pressure monitors

I have seen and used two types of home monitors. One has a cuff that goes around your wrist, while the other has a cuff that goes around your upper arm (at the level of your heart). While I have not done extensive testing, I did find the wrist cuff more temperamental and inaccurate. My own recommendation is that you buy a blood pressure monitor with the arm cuff. They are both similarly priced and can be bought for between $50 – $100.

Precautions when taking your own blood pressure

It is important that your are completely relaxed when you measure your blood pressure. There are also a few other guidelines that you should stick to before taking your reading:

1. Empty your bladder before sitting down to take a reading.
2. Don’t drink coffee for at least an hour before measuring your blood pressure.
3. Don’t smoke for at least 1 hour before.
4. Sit for five minutes with your back supported and your feet flat on the ground before taking your blood pressure. Keep your arm supported on a table at heart height.
5. Do not wear tight fitting clothes on your arm. When you fit the cuff, your rolled up sleeve should not be constricting your arm at all. If in doubt, take off your top.
6. Take two readings two minutes apart, and find the average.

Where to Buy Blood Pressure monitors

With these personal monitors being relatively cheap and yet highly accurate, we recommend you buy one to use at home. This will prevent "White Coat Syndrome" where your blood pressure is elevated just because you visit the doctors. However, when you get your, you must visit your doctor to check its accuracy. 

Our recommended supplier of blood pressure monitors usually have a range of wrist and upper arm cuff monitor.  See our guidelines to choosing a blood pressure monitor, and see what is available online:

Choosing a blood pressure monitor

It is very difficult to define exactly what constitutes low blood pressure, since everyone is different. One person may suffer symptoms at 90/60 while another is totally fine at blood pressures which theoretically should have them on their back.

If you have no symptoms there is no reason for concern. Only when blood pressure drops below the level required by your body and cells, is there a real problem. When this happens, you get symptoms.

Symptoms of low blood pressure

• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Fainting

Under severe low pressure, symptoms can include chest pains. Also, without the necessary pressure in the blood, the kidneys cannot filter out the toxins in your blood, and there will be an increase in blood levels of urea and creatine.

Causes of Low Blood Pressure

Low blood pressure can have a variety of causes including:

• Medication, including high blood pressure medicine, and medication for coronary heart disease.
• Anti-anxiety, and anti-depressant drugs.
• Diuretics
• Alcohol
• Dehydration – common when someone has diarrhea and-or vomiting. It is important to drink plenty of fluids (plain water works best) if you are ill with these.
• Slow heart beat
• Inflammation of organs in the body, e.g. acute pancreatitis
• Heart disease – when the walls of the heart become weakened and can no longer pump with the required force.

Should you consult a doctor?

Yes if:

• You lose consciousness when you stand up
• You constantly feel weak, light headed or tired.

Facts on low blood pressure

In younger people, low blood pressure can be a sign of chronic fatigue syndrome.

In older people, low blood pressure can indicate heart disease.

Young women (below 40) may find their blood pressure drops below 90/60 during:

• pregnancy
• hot weather
• dieting

Treatment for Low Blood Pressure

Since any treatment will depend on the cause of your low blood pressure, you must consult your doctor. It may be that some component of your lifestyle has caused the low blood pressure, and simple changes to that can restore your blood pressure to normal.

To prepare for each set of readings, I got into position, and waited quietly for 5 minutes before taking the first reading.

I then took a minimum of 3 readings for each position, with 3 minutes between each reading. The results I show you below are the average of the readings for each position. I have also included heart rate for the three positions.

Blood pressure when lying down:

Blood Pressure Average: 115/70
Heart Rate: 66

Blood pressure when sitting down:

Blood Pressure Average: 120/79
Heart Rate: 72

Blood pressure when standing :

Blood Pressure Average: 121/78
Heart Rate: 75

As you can see, my blood pressure (and heart rate) was lowest when lying down. This is as expected, since the body is not having to work too hard to pump blood around the body, which is all pretty much in the same horizontal plane.

When the body then sits up, there is an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Again, this is as I would have expected, since the body is now having to work a little harder to get the blood around the body.

Finally, when standing, there was no noticeable difference in my blood pressure from the sitting position. I had expected to possibly see a slight drop in blood pressure, though no change is not a big surprise. When you stand up, gravity causes blood to naturally wants to pool in your leg veins causing a drop in blood pressure. However, the autonomic nervous system tries to correct this by narrowing your blood vessels (which increases blood pressure) and increasing your heart rate. We did see the increased heart rate. The reason for no apparent drop in blood pressure is probably because the first reading was taken 5 minutes after standing. This would have given the body time to adjust.

Incidentally, I am not a doctor. These experiments are for my own curiosity, and I do not recommend you do the same.

Here are my results:

Here is the chart of this data:

While the graph may not look too impressive, you can see a large jump in blood pressure almost immediately. Before starting to smoke the cigar, the average blood pressure for the three preceding readings was 133/83. The first reading after starting to smoke was 149/92. That’s quite a jump.

The initial increase in blood pressure is spectacularly quick. Not surprising really, as smoke enters our bodies through the thin membranes of the lungs, as well as through the membranes in our mouth. This is why smokers can get a neat instant “hit” when they light up.

Blood pressure is raised for about 20 minutes before it returns back down to a more normal reading (that’s normal for me). When there is a stimulus to increase blood pressure, our bodies are going to try to combat that increase and lower the blood pressure. In this case it took about 20 minutes for my body to do so. Blood pressure then remained fairly constant for the remainder of the experiment.

It would be interesting to see how blood pressure would be affected if I continued to smoke all day (as in a chain smoker), and whether my body could compensate over a long period of time. I wont, however, be doing that experiment ;o)

Look out for new experiments soon. You’ll find them in the left hand menu.

The following books are related to high blood pressure and offer more information on this topic.

You will often find out you suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension) on a routine visit to the doctor, or when going to see the doctor about another complaint (which may be as a direct result of your high blood pressure).

It is possible that you might suffer from headaches, nausea, dizziness or blurred vision, but many people will not even experience these symptoms.

High blood pressure puts your cardiovascular system under enormous strain, which can result in serious health problems, even death. High blood pressure is often responsible for heart attacks, strokes, and aneurysms.

When you suffer from high blood pressure, the capilliaries in your body can be easily damaged because of the pressure, meaning organs such as the eye and kidneys can be easily damaged.

How to tell if you have high blood pressure

There is only one way to be certain. Get it measured.

You can go to your doctor, or get a home blood pressure monitor and measure it yourself. Because of a syndrome called White Coat Syndrome, I personally prefer to measure mine myself.

There are various drugs and medications for high blood pressure treatment, though these can often have undesirable side-effects.

There are also natural ways you can reduce your blood pressure as well, including changing your diet, increasing exercise, giving up smoking and losing weight. In fact, I personally reduced my blood pressure to normal using a combination of these “natural methods”. You should also be aware that changes to your exercise and diet can be responsible for more than just lowering your blood pressure. Being more careful with the food you eat and doing a little more exercise can help reduce factors such as stress, heart disease, cholesterol, arthritis and prevent onset of diabetes.

Don’t risk being the next victim of the silent killer.

Blood pressure is created by a combination of factors in your body:

1. Force of the heart pushing blood out of the heart chambers into the aorta.
2. The volume of blood you have circulating in your circulatory system.
3. The size of the blood vessels that the blood has to travel through. As the diameter of the blood vessels decrease, it requires greater pressure to push blood through.

Your body has various systems in place to keep your blood pressure within very strict limits. Negative feedback systems are in operation. Sensors in your carotid artery and wall of the aorta monitor blood pressure, and if it gets too high, a signal is sent to the medulla in your brain, which in turn reduces your heart rate, and increases vasodilation (opening up) in blood vessels (called arterioles). This means the same volume of blood is distributed between more blood vessels, so overall blood pressure drops. When blood pressure drops, the opposite happens. Heart rate increases, and vasoconstriction (closing off) occurs in arterioles.

Things can and do go wrong

Various factors can cause high blood pressure (which is called hypertension by the medical community).

There are varying opinions on what measurements actually constitute high blood pressure, but the majority of source agree that:

Greater than 140 mmHg Systolic Pressure, and greater than 90 mmHg diastolic pressure is high. If you have two or more readings taken on different occasions, you may be diagnosed as having hypertension.

Symptoms & Signs of High Blood Pressure

Unfortunately high blood pressure has very few (if any) symptoms, and is often called the “Silent Killer”. You should go to your doctor and get your blood pressure checked frequently. Alternatively you could buy a personal digital blood pressure monitor and make the measurements at home. It could save your life.

What Causes of Hypertension

In most cases, the cause of hypertension is unknown. However, there are some factors which can contribute to it.

• Excessive alcohol
• Tobacco
• Obesity
• Salt in the diet
• genetic factors

Blood pressure can also increase in pregnancy, when the patient has kidney problems, or hormonal problems like an over-active thyroid, and even sleep apnea (a condition which causes the sufferer to stop breathing for a short time when asleep).

There are also some medications that can cause increased blood pressure including antacids, oral contraceptives, decongestants and diet pills. Please read the notes that come with any medication you are taking for details on possible blood pressure side-effects.

Risks of Hypertension

If your blood pressure is too high, your heart and arteries are put under stress, and can hate fatal consequences.

• Hypertension causes damage to the walls of your arteries causing them to become less elastic. This hardening of the arteries makes it much easier for harmful cholesterol to stick to your artery wall, reducing the diameter of the blood vessel through which blood must flow. With narrowing of the arteries, your heart must work much harder to push the blood through, and blood pressure rises. Possible consequences include heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or even the amputation of the leg.
• Risks of heart attack and stroke are greatly increased in patients with high blood pressure.
• Heart enlarges which can cause heart attack.
• Bulging of the arteries outwards. These aneurysms can rupture, leading to blood spilling out into surrounding tissues. If this occurs in the brain, the patient will likely suffer a stroke.
• Blood vessels in the kidneys narrow possibly leading to renal failure.
• Blood vessels in the eyes can burst, causing a deterioration in sight, even blindness.

Treatment of high blood pressure

See our high blood pressure diet page to read about how you can reduce your blood pressure naturally. Also you can read about some of the medications used to treat high blood pressure, and possible side-effects of these drugs.

People who have high blood pressure need to watch what they eat. Closely linked to this is exercise, which is also beneficial. However, before changing diet or exercise routines, please consult your doctor to talk through your personal situation.

Causes of hypertension (high blood pressure) in most cases are very difficult to diagnose (in fact some sources suggest that even up to 90% of cases have unknown causes). However, some of the common factors thought to be involved include:

• moderate to excessive alcohol intake
• smoking
• too much caffeine
• being overweight
• too much salt in the diet
• genetics

These factors mean that:

• If you are overweight, try to lose weight. Reducing % body fat can lower blood pressure. A 30 minute walk every day can help you achieve this.
• Try to eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods.
• Always look at the nutritional information on the food you buy, and choose those low in salt (or sodium).
• Drink less caffeine drinks. Often fizzy drink contain a lot of caffeine, so do read those labels. Try to switch to decaffeinated coffee if you are a coffee drinker. I actually found I needed a caffeine coffee in the morning so had one caffeine coffee first thing, followed by decaf if I wanted more.
• Reduce alcohol intake to recommended levels or less.
• Stop smoking!

The problem with trying to lower your salt, is that there is so much hidden salt in the stuff you buy at the grocery shop.

Tips to reduce salt in your diet

• By products that are labeled as no salt added.
• By fresh meat and vegetables rather than processed products. Lots of those cold meats at the deli have added salt, as do canned vegetables.
• Try to stop putting salt on food when cooking or eating. You may find that the food becomes “tasteless” when you do this, but after a while you will get use to it.
• When buying bread, look for the sodium levels on the packaging and select the one with the lowest levels. I have found the amounts of sodium in sliced bread varies enormously.
• Cut back on stock cubes and packages soups which are often high in sodium. If you want stock cubes, look for low sodium ones.
• If using canned food, rinse well in water to remove salt. Tinned vegetables and tuna are good examples of foods packages in extra salt.
• Read the labels on breakfast cereals. These often have high levels of salt.

Additional Supplements thought to contribute to lowering blood pressure

Magnesium, potassium and calcium are three very important elements of a diet, and are thought to have blood pressure lowering properties. I have listed below some of the sources of these supplements, but please do consult your doctor before supplementing with these minerals.

Magnesium – dark green leafy vegetables. Soy products, legumes and seeds, nuts (e.g. almonds and cashews), whole grains like brown rice, bananas, dried apricots, and avocados. Your body eliminates excess magnesium.

Potassium – salmon, cod, and sardines. Broccoli, spinach, lettuce, parsley, peas, lima beans, tomatoes, potatoes with skins. Citrus fruits, apples, bananas, and dried apricots. Note people with kidney problems should avoid these foods. They require a low potassium diet.

Calcium – Milk and dairy products such as yogurt and cheeses. However, try to go with low fat products. Skimmed milk has a higher calcium content than full fat milk. Broccoli, kale, and bok choy. Salmon and tinned sardines (eat the bones), shellfish, almonds and Brazil nuts. Also look for products with extra added calcium.

B Vitamins – Broccoli, spinach, wheat germ, bananas, potatoes, chicken, fish, lean meat, milk, liver and eggs.

Omega 3 – Walnuts, oregano, salmon, halibut, shrimps, cod, tuna, scallops, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, sprouts, kale, spinach and strawberries. Look out for margarine and dairy drinks with added Omega 3.

The DASH Diet

The DASH Diet puts many of these factors into an easy to follow diet system. You can get a free copy of the Dash Diet from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute website. The DASH diet is clinically proven to significantly reduce blood pressure.

It is vitally important that you keep checks on your blood pressure, and if high, seek medical help. While blood pressure medications can help reduce a dangerously high blood pressure, they often do have side-effects. In my own case, I wanted to find ways to help control my blood pressure naturally, and within a couple of months, my blood pressure was largely under control. The following tips are for information only. Please consult your doctor if you have high blood pressure.

Tips for controlling blood pressure

• Reduce alcohol intake if you drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day. Small amounts of alcohol don’t seem to affect blood pressure in the same way, but heavy drinkers will benefit from reducing alcohol intake.
• Drink plenty of fresh water – your body is made up of a high percentage of water. If you don’t drink enough, your body tries to hold onto it, causing bloating. By drinking water regularly throughout the day, your body can detoxify your body. Your urine can be a good gauge to whether you are drinking enough water. The darker it is, the more dehydrated you are.
• Increase levels of activity – this will exercise your heart. Studies regularly show that increased exercise will help lower blood pressure.
• Lose weight if you need to – if you are over-weight, your heart has to work harder to pump blood around your body. Losing weight can reduce blood pressure, and you’ll feel a lot better as well.
• Reduce salt intake – your body does require salt, but in most cases, it can be supplied in sufficient doses by eating a balanced diet. Foods contain salt, so you don’t need to add extra. Since sodium (a component of salt) is involved in regulating body fluids, it can play a role in high blood pressure. If you eat canned products, read the labels. Look for food sources low in sodium.
• Avoid food high in fat or cholesterol.
• Stop smoking – nicotine has been shown to constrict blood vessels (making them narrower), raising the pressure in the vessels.
• Reduce Caffeine intake – My morning coffees are an important part of my daily routine, but I found that by having one caffeine coffee, and then switching to decaffeine coffee for the rest of the morning, I could have the best of both worlds, while helping to reduce my blood pressure.

Prior to following these tips, my blood pressure regularly reached 140/90 and even 140/100. After two months of following these tips, my blood pressure was normal, and often as far down as 115/68. These tips were responsible for controlling my high blood pressure, and meant that I could avoid going onto drugs. If you decide to try the natural route, please do consult your doctor first. The above information does not constitute medical advise.

The pressure of your blood depends on a number of factors including:

• the force created by your heart pumping blood into your arteries
• the volume of your blood
• the resistance your blood encounters as it moves through your blood vessels.

You body needs to make sure that there is sufficient pressure to push the blood into all of the capillaries around your body. Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels in your body, and ensure that all cells in your body receive nutrients they require to live.

Maintaining normal blood pressure is delicately balanced. Too high, and your heart and blood vessels are put under strain. Too low and the low blood pressure means some cells may not get the nutrients they require.

High blood pressure is often called the “Silent Killer” since there are often no symptoms. For this reason, it is important you get your blood pressure checked regularly.

Blood pressure readings can be taken by your doctor using a sphygmomanometer and stethoscope, or at home using a blood pressure monitor (the easiest ones to use are digital monitors). The home monitors generally come in two forms. One places a cuff around your wrist, while the other places a cuff around your upper arm (level with your heart). I personally have tried both types and found the most accurate one to be the upper arm cuff.

The blood pressure “numbers”

The blood pressure reading is two numbers. These are the two pressures of your blood at varying stages of your heart beat cycle:

The larger number is the systolic pressure, the lower number is the diastolic pressure.

Systolic pressure is the blood pressure being pumped into the aorta when the heart beats.

Diastolic pressure is the blood pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes between beats.

Blood pressure does vary with age, sex and health, but in general, a healthy blood pressure is 120/80, or 120 over 80.

This means that systolic blood pressure is 120 mmHg, and the diastolic blood pressure is 80 mmHg.

Your blood pressure can actually tell a doctor a lot about the health of your heart and blood vessels. High blood pressure means that your heart is having to work harder to push your blood to all the cells in your body.

This can happen if e.g. you have narrowing of the arteries, since this narrowing increases the resistance of your blood vessels, and requires more pressure to get the blood through.

High blood pressure is also called hypertension, and can have serious consequences if not treated. e.g. high blood pressure can weaken the artery walls, and lead to rupture. If this happens in the brain, it can lead to a stroke.

There are a wide range of medicines and medications available to treat high blood pressure, and some alternative therapies such as acupuncture may also help, but you can also take immediate steps by looking at your diet and increasing your daily exercise (walking is a great exercise).

We explore some of the dietary considerations on this site, but please do consult a doctor before changing your diet or undertaking an exercise program.