How to take blood pressure at home
Eight steps that make a home reading comparable to the next one. Check them off beside the cuff. Your clinician’s instructions win if they differ.
Home blood pressure checklist
0 of 8 checked
- Wait 30 minutes after caffeine, exercise, or smoking
Coffee, a brisk walk, and a cigarette can each move the number. If one of those just happened, wait.
- Empty your bladder
A full bladder is enough to push a reading up. Go first.
- Sit quietly for about 5 minutes
Back supported, feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed. No talking and no scrolling.
- Bare arm, cuff at heart level
Support the arm on a table. Take the arm out of the sleeve. A tight rolled sleeve acts like a tourniquet.
- Use a cuff that fits
A cuff that is too small can read high. Check the range printed on the cuff against your upper-arm measurement.
- Stay still and silent while it runs
Talking during the reading is a common reason one number looks worse than the rest of the week.
- Take a second reading about a minute later
Two readings are the usual pair. Log both, or log the average of the pair. Pick one rule and keep it.
- Write down the numbers, the time, and the arm
Systolic, diastolic, pulse if the monitor shows it, and whether this was morning or evening. A number without a time is hard to use later.
Educational checklist, not a diagnosis and not a substitute for instructions from your clinician. The phone does not measure blood pressure.
Why the list is this short
Home technique moves the number as much as the monitor does. The steps above are the usual ones from blood-pressure measurement guidance: bladder empty, no caffeine or exercise or smoking in the previous 30 minutes, seated and quiet, bare arm, cuff at heart level, a cuff that fits, still and silent during the inflation, then a second reading about a minute later.
Check them off if that helps the habit. The checks are not saved. Print the list and leave it with the cuff if you want it tomorrow without the phone.
One rule for the pair
Take two readings. Then either log both or log the average of those two. Do not switch in the middle of a two-week log, or the average of the log will mix two different kinds of numbers.
When the number is not a checklist problem
Higher than 180 systolic and/or higher than 120 diastolic is urgent. Follow emergency guidance from the American Heart Association and contact a clinician now. Do not spend that moment reprinting a checklist.
Steps follow published home-measurement guidance. Your clinician’s instructions win if they differ. Monitoring Your Blood Pressure at Home (AHA) · Understanding Blood Pressure Readings (AHA)
Questions about measuring at home
How long should I sit before taking my blood pressure?
About five quiet minutes, with your back supported and your feet on the floor, is the usual instruction. Measuring the moment you sit down tends to read higher.
Can I take my blood pressure over a shirt?
No. Use a bare upper arm. Rolling a tight sleeve up above the cuff can change the reading too. Take the arm out of the sleeve.
Does this checklist apply to a wrist monitor?
No. These steps are for an upper-arm cuff. Wrist monitors need the wrist held at heart level and the device’s own instructions. Many clinicians prefer a validated upper-arm monitor for home logs.
Which arm should I use?
Use the arm your clinician named. If nobody has named one, pick one arm and stay with it so the log is comparable. The first time, some clinics check both arms and then keep the higher one.