Your blood pressure monitor may be lying: Doctors reveal reason
Why your blood pressure monitor may be showing falsely high readings (Photo: Magnific)
Measuring your blood pressure at home can help detect serious health problems early. According to medical experts, high blood pressure, or hypertension, often develops without any symptoms while significantly increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
Daily Star explains why your blood pressure monitor may show falsely high readings.
What you should know about measuring blood pressure
Because hypertension can go unnoticed for years, experts strongly recommend checking your blood pressure regularly, especially if you're over the age of 40. However, one very common mistake can artificially inflate your readings and cause unnecessary concern.
The impact of a full bladder
The American Heart Association warns that measuring your blood pressure with a full bladder is a significant mistake. This physiological factor can raise your systolic (top) blood pressure reading by as much as 33 mmHg.
That means someone with a perfectly normal systolic reading of 120 mmHg could suddenly see an alarming 153 mmHg on their monitor.
Experts explain that this temporary spike is linked to the body's nervous system. A full bladder stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, causing blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise until the bladder is emptied. That's why you should always use the restroom before putting on the blood pressure cuff.
The key rules for an accurate reading
In addition to emptying your bladder, there are several other essential steps to ensure accurate blood pressure measurements. Medical experts recommend following these guidelines:
- Rest beforehand: Sit quietly and relax for at least five minutes before taking your reading.
- Maintain the correct posture: Keep both feet flat on the floor, avoid crossing your legs, support your back against the chair, and rest your arm on a table at heart level.
- Avoid stimulants: Don't smoke, exercise, or consume caffeinated drinks for at least 30 minutes before measuring your blood pressure.
- Stay completely silent: Do not talk or watch television while the monitor is taking your reading.
What to do if your reading is high
Medical guidelines recommend measuring your blood pressure under consistent conditions. If your first reading is unusually high, don't rush to take medication. Doctors advise waiting a few minutes before taking one or two additional readings before making any health decisions.
Following these four simple steps emptying your bladder, resting for five minutes, sitting in the correct position, and remaining silent will help ensure that your home blood pressure monitor provides the most accurate and reliable results.
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
