Blood pressure readings taken in a hospital or GP practice are often falsely high. It is now recommended that home readings are done wherever possible. We monitor blood pressure at 6 monthly in individuals diagnosed with high blood pressure and more often when we are commencing and adjusting blood pressure lowering medications. Regular blood pressure monitoring is also important in kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease and vascular disease.
You should choose an automatic blood pressure monitor that measures your blood pressure at your upper arm. Monitors that measure your blood pressure at your finger or wrist should be avoided as they do not always provide accurate readings. Monitors come with different sized cuffs. It is very important that the correct cuff size is used for your arm circumference. The instructions that come with your monitor will provide information about how you should decide what size of cuff you need to use. Intermittently monitors will need to be replaced or calibrated please refer to the instructions provided with your monitor.
A list of validated monitors available to purchase is available at bihsoc.org/bp-monitors/for-home-use
Downloads
BP Monitoring sheet (DOCX, 18KB)
BHF – Taking your Blood Pressure at Home information sheet (PDF, 174KB)