How to monitor your blood pressure at home

Requirements:

You will need

• An electronic blood pressure  monitor: You can easily purchase one from any of the online stores such as AliExpress.com (an affiliate of Alibaba.com) or Amazon.com and it will be delivered to your specified address.
• A jotter to record your readings on a daily basis.
• Time: You need to dedicate time to checking your blood pressure every day. The time has to be the same every day.

Procedure:

1. Assemble the required items on a table with a comfortable chair by it.

2. Connect your machine to an electricity source instead of using batteries. This gives better results than batteries. However, batteries can be used if the grid goes off.

3. Sit upright in a relaxed position with the table at elbow level and tie the cuff of the machine firmly around your arm. Relax yourself and make sure you’re comfortable.

4. First, turn off the machine if it comes on and then turn it on again. Wait as it reads.

5. Afterwards, untie the cuff and record the readings in the format: systolic BP/Diastolic BP in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), a unit for measuring blood pressure. Some machines are also able to record the rate at which your heart pumps per minute (pulse). Also record it in your jotter and attach the unit of measurement (bpm or b/m) to it.

6. Record all these values in your jotter and present them to your health care provider on your next visit to him or her.

7. Disconnect and pack your machine back in its case. Keep in a secure, dry place with temperature not exceeding 38°C.

8. Make sure you repeat the process the next day and subsequent days at the same time.