Checking your blood pressure often key to your health

Here’s the scenario. You go in for your annual physical (you’ve all done this recently, right?) and one of the first things the nurse does is take your blood pressure. Now, this may be right after you got weighed, so you blame that on its elevated number. But wait, the practitioner comes in and takes it again a few minutes later, and maybe mutters a noise that sounds like “ummmm.”

You feel fine. But hypertension, which is what they call high blood pressure in the medical world, has no symptoms and you may have it, or be borderline or maybe just experiencing a spike that means nothing.

Let’s look at what those numbers are. WebMD explains, “When your heart beats, it contracts and pushes blood through the arteries to the rest of your body. This force creates pressure on the arteries. This is called systolic blood pressure.

“A normal systolic blood pressure is 120 or below. A systolic blood pressure of 120-139 means you have normal blood pressure that is higher than ideal, or borderline high blood pressure. Even people with this level are at a greater risk of developing heart disease. A systolic blood pressure number of 140 or higher, on repeated measurements, is considered to be hypertension.

“The diastolic blood pressure number or the bottom number indicates the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats. A normal diastolic blood pressure number is 80 or less. A diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 is normal but higher than ideal. A diastolic blood pressure number of 90 or higher, on repeated measurements, is considered to be high blood pressure.”

We all know, or should know, that having hypertension increases your chances of having a stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, or dying prematurely. You’re at a higher risk if you are obese, often stressed or anxious, drink more than one or two drinks per day, eat too much salt, have a family history, have diabetes or smoke.

The National Institute of Health states that your health care provider will measure your blood pressure several times before diagnosing you with high blood pressure because it is normal for your blood pressure to be different based on the time of day.

So, the clinician tells you that you need to monitor your blood pressure and gives you a little card or notebook to do so. What do you do then? Well, you can go to any one of the grocery stores or pharmacies in town or you can purchase a home monitoring kit.

This is not an infomercial for a particular product, but I will tell you that based on my research, home testing is preferred.

When asked how accurate the blood pressure machines in markets and drugstores are, Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic responded, “Not accurate enough to make health decisions regarding your blood pressure.”

“The blood pressure machines that you can use free of charge may have been accurate when first installed. But in order to stay accurate, they must be maintained and recalibrated. Generally, no information is available to the user regarding the care of these devices. As a result, the reading you get has limited value because it may be incorrect,” Sheps said.

A quick Google search turned up home monitoring kits for as low as $14 and as high as $140. That’s a big difference. So, I will recommend that you ask your health care professional or your trusted pharmacist for advice as to which one will be best for you and to make sure you know how to use it properly.

Kathy Hubbard is a member of Bonner General Hospital Foundation Advisory Committee. She can be reached at 264-4029 or kathyleehubbard@yahoo.com.