Should You Monitor Your Blood Pressure at Home

Vijaya Nama, MD Blog Should You Monitor Your Blood Pressure at Home

High blood pressure is a primary cause of heart disease, yet there are no physical signs or symptoms until it’s too late to prevent damage. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women and men in the United States, so you have a vested interest in understanding and knowing how high blood pressure (also called hypertension) affects your health. 

Vijay Nama, MD, and her team can help you control this preventable condition in its early stages to minimize the risks associated with elevated blood pressure. In addition to medical care, consider monitoring your blood pressure at home. 

The importance of blood pressure screening

High blood pressure normally has no symptoms. The only way to know where your blood pressure is is through regular cuff tests, which are usually performed at medical facilities during treatments or physical assessments. 

Your blood pressure changes over time and even throughout the day. You might have higher blood pressure when you’re digesting a big meal or working out and lower blood pressure when you’re taking it easy. 

It’s only through accurate blood pressure screening that you can be treated correctly for your hypertension condition if you have one. 

Challenges of blood pressure testing

Diagnosis of hypertension is based on a series of readings made during separate visits to a doctor’s office. Some people have a psychological reaction called “white coat syndrome,” a low-level anxious reaction to being in a doctor’s office or medical facility. 

This can create a problem with accuracy since recommended monitoring intervals can range from one to five years, depending on your age and health. If white coat syndrome affects these sporadic readings, you might be reading as hypertensive.  

Monitoring blood pressure at home

Blood pressure tests are safe and painless, and there is no health risk from overtesting. Today, blood pressure testing systems can be purchased for home use at increasingly affordable prices. 

If you test high at the doctor’s office, adding a home monitoring station can rule out white coat syndrome, or it can help to verify that your hypertension diagnosis (and, therefore, its treatment) is accurate. 

You can also monitor the effectiveness of lifestyle changes and treatments on your blood pressure levels. Better still, testing at home lets you be proactive, managing your blood pressure before a problem begins. 

Other medical conditions

Some metabolic and physical conditions burden the heart and blood pressure. If you have any of these conditions, adding home blood pressure testing provides a safety margin for recognizing the effects of the underlying disorder. 

Some health conditions directly cause hypertension, and, in turn, high blood pressure leads to chronic health problems. In both cases, untreated hypertension leads to increasing severity of health challenges.

High blood pressure contributes to:

Health conditions affect your body’s metabolism and ability to control sodium, fluid, and hormone levels, leading to high blood pressure. Your risk for hypertension increases due to any of these conditions:

Home blood monitoring is essential if you have kidney disease or other medical conditions associated with high blood pressure. Regularly checking your blood pressure allows Dr. Nama to control your hypertension treatment accurately. 

Call or click to schedule a hypertension consultation with Dr. Nama and our team today.

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