How do I take my blood pressure correctly at home?

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Technique moves the number by ten points or more, so the protocol matters. The standard sequence: avoid caffeine, exercise, and smoking for 30 minutes before; empty your bladder; sit quietly for 5 minutes in a chair with your back supported and feet flat on the floor - no crossing legs; rest the cuffed arm on a table at heart level; wrap the cuff snugly on bare skin, not over clothing; then take the reading without talking or moving. MedlinePlus describes the same positioning the clinic uses - feet flat, arm at heart level - and that is the standard to copy. Take two readings a minute apart, morning and evening, for several days when establishing your baseline, and write them down or use the monitor memory - the log is the deliverable, not any single number. Repeat a surprising reading after a few quiet minutes before reacting to it. Pymander, a free AI doctor available 24/7 by text, can help you build the log and read the pattern.

How do I take my blood pressure correctly at home?

Correct BP technique

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