Maintaining healthy blood pressure is one of the keys to overall health. Therefore, monitoring yours on a regular basis can be a life-saver, according to Joyce M. Oen-Hsiao, MD, director of the cardiac rehabilitation program and medical director of the cardiac telemetry unit at the Yale-New Haven Hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center. “Long-standing high blood pressure can cause damage to the small vessels in your body and also cause the heart to thicken and stiffen,” she explains. “Checking your blood pressure can help you and your doctor figure out if you need medications or that your medications are working.”
Here’s how a blood pressure monitor works, per Dr. Oen-Hsiao: In order to find out your blood pressure, the cuff inflates to a point where it temporarily cuts off the blood flow through the brachial artery in your arm. The pressure in the cuff is then slowly released. Within the cuff is a sensor that can detect blood flow. The point where blood begins to intermittently flow through the brachial artery is recorded as the systolic blood pressure (the top number.) The point when the flow goes from intermittent to a continuous flow is the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number). While the monitor is sensing the blood flow through the brachial artery, it is also able to count the number of heartbeats in a specific time frame. It then calculates what the heart rate would be in a minute.
So how do you choose an effective blood pressure monitor, considering there are so many on the market? Dr. Oen-Hsiao recommends investing in a blood pressure cuff that can also measure your heart rate. “If you have an arrhythmia, some of the blood pressure monitors also have an arrhythmia detector in it, so it can tell you when your heartbeat is irregular,” she explains. “This can be helpful in patients whose arrhythmia comes and goes.”
She also suggests opting for one with cuffs that go around your arm, explaining that they give the most accurate reading, making sure it is the correct size for your arm. “If the cuff is too big or too small, it will change the reading of your blood pressure. If you have a disability or your arm is too large to fit in an arm cuff, then the wrist blood pressure monitor is the next best thing,” she says. To measure your arm, she suggests starting by measuring the circumference around your upper arm in centimeters. Then, multiply that number by 80 percent to determine the length of the cuff. Finally, multiply the circumference by 40 percent to get the correct width of the cuff.
Another thing to take into consideration? Portability and ability to travel. “It would be nice to have a blood pressure monitor that can run on battery and with a plug, in case you are traveling,” she says.
Also, some monitors can store blood pressures for multiple people, which is helpful if there are multiple family members using the same monitor.
Lastly, blood pressure should not be different between the right and left arms, but sometimes there may be a blockage. Therefore, “checking the blood pressure on both arms would be helpful,” she suggests. “Some cuffs on the market can be used on both arms, which will allow you to check the blood pressure on both arms.”
After you purchase one, you want to make sure yours is accurate, says Dr. Oen-Hsiao. “I recommend bringing your blood pressure monitor into your doctor’s office so that they can check your blood pressure manually in the office and compare it with your monitor. If the numbers correlate, then your doctor knows that the blood pressure readings you are getting at home are correct.” Some patients have “White coat hypertension,” where their blood pressure rises when they are in the doctor’s office. “By correlating the blood pressure monitor with the blood pressure in the office, the doctor may not have to adjust your medications,” she adds.
If you’re looking to keep track of your blood pressure during your day-to-day routine, consider the following options.
