A blood pressure (BP) test is a part of a doctor’s routine health check-up. While health professionals recommend that some patients with high blood pressure (hypertension) track their blood pressure levels regularly, individuals can generally opt for this to ensure good heart health.

Wondering how? Read the following piece and get an answer to your query, like how to check BP at home.

Stay tuned!

Individuals can check blood pressure in several ways, including -

• Using an automated blood pressure machine
• Manually
• Using apps

A blood pressure test measures the pressure in arteries and gives a hint about the amount of work your heart is doing to pump blood. Blood pressure is measured using two readings. These are -

• Systolic pressure
• Diastolic pressure- Systolic pressure refers to the first reading, i.e., blood pressure during the heart’s contraction phase. The second reading is the diastolic pressure, which measures blood pressure during the heart’s relaxation phase.

For instance, if your blood pressure test results show like 120/80 mm Hg (millimetres of mercury), the systolic pressure is 120, and the diastolic pressure is 80.

Now that you have a basic idea about blood pressure and measuring units, we can move on to the section on how to check blood pressure in different ways.

Brush off your worries about how to check blood pressure at home and purchase an automated blood pressure machine. These machines use a digital monitor, and the results are visible on the screen.

Automated blood pressure machines are easy to use and are available online, in grocery stores or pharmacies. Read on to know how to check BP with a machine.

• Step-1: Sit comfortably in a chair and bend your upper arm and put it on a table. The position of your upper arm and heart must be on a similar level.
• Step-2: Move your hand through the hollow cuff of the automated machine and wrap it round your bare upper arm. Make sure your arm’s lower edge is about 2.5 cm (1 inch) on top of the bend of the elbow.
• Step-3: Once the cuff is properly attached, hit the power button.  A heart symbol will appear beside zero on the screen. Wait for it.
• Step-4:  Click the start button. The cuff around your arm will begin to inflate. You may feel intense pressure on your upper arm. After that, this cuff will deflate, and you can see numbers on-screen (increasing or decreasing).
• Step-5: The heart symbol will stop flashing after the measurement is complete, and you can see the ultimate blood pressure number on the screen.

Sometimes automated blood pressure machines can display results that may vary from the readings of a doctor. In that case, take this machine to your doctor at the next appointment so that you can compare both readings and get a solution for it. Purchase a high-quality blood pressure checking device to reduce the level of error in results.

Wondering how to check BP without a machine? Read along!

To check blood pressure manually, you will need a blood pressure cuff with a squeezable balloon, a stethoscope, and a sphygmomanometer. A sphygmomanometer (also known as an aneroid meter is a number dial). If possible, take the help of your family member or friend as doing all the procedures calmly would be a little tricky.

Follow the steps mentioned below to check blood pressure manually.

• Step-1: Make yourself comfortable and keep your arm straight and place it on a table.
• Step-2: Wrap the cuff around your upper arm and press the balloon to inflate the cuff. Use the number on the aneroid monitor to inflate the cuff. This inflation should be about 20-30 Hg than your normal blood pressure. In case you are unaware of your normal blood pressure, consult your doctor about the correct inflation level per your health condition.
• Step-3: After you have inflated the cuff at a correct level, make sure to place a stethoscope at the crease of your elbow (where the artery is located). Do not forget to check the stethoscope’s efficiency so that you can hear pulse rate clearly. The testing process is easy, and you can do it by tapping on it. Make sure you are using a top notch stethoscope and its upper part seats correctly in your eardrums.
• Step-4: Slowly deflate the balloon once you can hear the sound of first blood flowing. Here, remember the number as it is your systolic pressure. Continue deflating the balloon until the rhythm stops. Once the rhythm stops, note down the number, which is your diastolic pressure.

You can record the measurement by putting systolic over diastolic, for instance, 118/85.

As the most common ways to measure BP levels are now clear to you, let’s learn a new method.

Apart from checking blood pressure with an automated machine or manually, there are other ways. Currently, there are several mobile applications available that promise to check blood pressure without any equipment.

These apps help individuals identify patterns in their blood pressure. Your house physician can take help of these results before prescribing medications since the results of these apps may be wrong so doctors can test blood pressure to confirm and tally the results before finally prescribing them.

Following is a list of some blood pressure monitoring applications,

• Blood Pressure Companion for iPhone- You can manage your blood pressure, weight, temperature, and many other health data through this app. This app comprises lifetime data tracking, statistics reporting, medication correlation, chart visualisation, optional cloud data synchronisation, email import/export, reminders, and other easy-to-use features.
• Blood Pressure for Android- This app comes equipped with multiple built-in features, such as measurement analysis, comprehensive reports, statistics, graphs and many others, which will help track blood pressure levels.
• Blood Pressure Monitor-Family Lite for iPhone- Apart from tracking blood pressure, this app will allow you to track heart rate and weight.

You can check blood pressure twice a day. You can complete the first tracking procedure in the morning before eating or taking any medication. The second measurement can be done in the evening. However, talk to your doctor to know how often you should repeat this process. Usually, people with high blood pressure have to track BP more than people with low blood pressure.

Now that you know how to check BP, you can easily use any of the methods mentioned above and ensure good heart health by keeping a regular track of it.