How To Measure Blood Pressure Using Digital Measuring Device

Blood pressure monitoring is very vital for hypertension management. According to the World Health organization (W.H.O), they recommend that people above 40 years should start monitoring their blood pressure every three years and every year as they get older. A hypertensive patients is one with a blood pressure reading above normal after three consecutive measurements within some days. A single reading above normal is not considered hypertensive but is a risk factor.
Blood pressure can be monitored by train health care personnel like a pharmacist. They do this using a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer. This is a manual device. However, visiting a health center all the time for blood pressure measurement can be both expensive and time consuming when there are cheaper and better options like a digital blood pressure measuring device. These device are small, cheap, portable and easy to use unlike the manual device which may not be easy for non heath care personnel. Besides, it also help to identify patients that suffer from white coat reading, a situation whereby a patient usually have high reading maybe due to fear of the doctors office or mask reading whereby the patient gets wrong readings at home.

How To Buy A Good Blood Pressure Device

There are several digital blood pressure measuring device out there today. The choice of a suitable device lies on several factors. The most accurate device are those that the cuff is wound round the upper part of the arm. The measuring device that use cuff around the wrist and finger have been shown that their accuracy is highly questionable.

Wrist blood pressure monitor

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The model and device name should be considered as some have been known for their reputation. That apart, the size of the cuff is very important. A bigger cuff is for patients with a bigger upper arm. Using the wrong cuff size  will lead to wrong result. Using a big cuff for a patient with a small upper arm will produce a very wrong result.
Going for an expensive product may not mean a machine with accurate reading. Some machine come with extra functionality such as voice speech, usb port for connection to a computer, AC power adapter, recorder for multiple reading, blood pressure light indicator, etc. Always check out the product for extra functionality before buying. Since the product last for years, it is better to buy once and for all.
Some machine come with a very big screen for a big, bolder reading with a clear font. For those with eye sight issues, a machine with big screen and even good contrast is necessary.

Automatic digital blood pressure monitor

 There is an option to choose a full automatic machine or a semi automatic device. Semi automatic are those that need inflation by the patient. However, the full automatic does the inflation with the help of  battery or an external power source.

Semi automatic digital blood pressure monitor

Blood Pressure Reading

To better understand how your machine works and the reading, let us take a look at what blood pressure really means. Blood pressure is the force the heart use to push blood through the body. The arteries is the tube that distribute blood from the heart to the body. The pressure of blood in the arteries close to the heart is what is use to measure blood pressure. The artery at the upper arm is the closest to the heart that can easily be measure.
The best hand to use is the left arm. That is because it is closer to the heart than the right arm. The heart is not at the middle of the chest. It is tilted to the left hand side. But that does not mean that the right hand cannot be use. Only that the result may be slightly different with some few point difference in reading.
If you have seen a blood pressure reading before, you will observe that the reading is usually two numbers with one at the top and the other under. The top number is called the systolic number. This number is the pressure reading when the heart is pumping blood (heart contract). This is the force exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries. The second number is the diastolic number. It is usually smaller than the upper number. It is the pressure the blood exert on the walls of the arteries when the heart is at rest or relaxing or not pumping blood (in between beat).
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Calibration

After buying your new device,  it is always good to read it's instructions as to how to use it and maintenance. Calibration is also very necessary. The best way to know if your new device is working as the manufacturer claim is to take it to a trained health care personnel and compare the reading from the manual device and that of your new device. If the blood pressure result of you is similar, you are good to go and use the result to extrapolate subsequent reading.

Precautions

Before doing any reading, it is good to follow the following guide.
1. Avoid drinks or food that contains caffeine, alcohol, tobacco at least 30 minutes before taking blood pressure reading
2. Avoid any strenuous activity 30 minutes before taking reading
3. Rest for about 5-10 minutes before taking reading
4. Avoid drugs that may interfere with your results like drugs for hypertension
5. Best you empty your bladder before taking reading

Blood Pressure Taking Procedure

1. Open the battery tray and insert the right type using the right polarity. Cover the battery compartment with the batter tray. For those with an external power source, insert the power adapter into the machine and connect the plug into a suitable power outlet
2. Sit on a chair and place your arm on a table ahead resting on your elbow. The upper arm should be same level with the heart. The palm should be on the table facing up
3. Relax you back, head and rest on feet on the floor
4. Take off any clothing at the upper arm. Wound the cuff around the upper arm. In some situations, the manufacturer require the joint where the air tube joins the cuff be at the top of the hand or by the left side of the hand. In most cases, the semi automatic machine require the air tube to be by the side of the hand to allow the measuring tube to sit at the middle of the hand. But for the full automatic machine, it require the tube to be at the middle of the hand. Let the tip of the lower end of the cuff be about 2 cm from the elbow. Some manufacturers require an inch length. Consult your manufacturer for more detail
5. Connect the air tube to the machine for full automatic machine. Never use your arm to press on the tube or allow it to twist
6. Press the start/stop button on the machine. It will automatically inflate for the automatic machine. Manually inflate the cuff using the rubber tubing that came with the semi automatic machine until you are 30-40 points more than any other recent systolic reading you had in the past. Or during inflation, place one of your fingers on the pulse beat in your wrist and stop inflation when it stop beating.
7. After a while in both cases, it will automatically deflate
8. The reading is now displayed on the digital screen after a beep sound. Some machine include pulse beat rate.
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It is good to take the reading two or three times. But wait for about two minutes before carrying out another measurement to avoid wrong results. Document all result and give it to your health care personnel. They will correlate your home reading with what they got at the health care facility. Some machine can be use for more than one person like husband and wife. Some even have memory to  record many readings. This is when the time and date is set. It is easy to set time and date for majority of the device I have seen. It is just like setting mobile phone time.

Blood Pressure Rate

It is good to have an idea when it is necessary to seek immediate medical help. Below are the normal rate and the readings that will call for medical intervention.
Stage                         Systolic             Diastolic
Normal                     Below 120        Below 80
Pre-hypertension   120-139             80-89
Stage one                 140-159             90-99
Stage two                 Above 160        Above 100

Pre-hypertension does not require immediate medical intervention. Stage one and stage two does. Regularly checking blood pressure at home will help in knowing if medical intervention is working or not.