Healthy blood pressure is crucial for the wellbeing of your heart and your entire body. But how can you be sure you're achieving reliable measurement results when measuring blood pressure at home?
Blood pressure is an important indicator of the health of your cardiovascular system. High blood pressure (hypertension) can lead to serious problems such as heart disease, strokes and kidney damage. Low blood pressure (hypotension) can also be harmful to health and trigger dizziness or fainting. Often, no symptoms are initially apparent, which is why too high or too low blood pressure can go unnoticed. By regularly checking your blood pressure, you can identify potential problems early on and take appropriate action.
If you want to use a blood pressure monitor for the upper arm, follow these tips:
Our video tip for the correct blood pressure measurement on the upper arm.
If you want to use a blood pressure monitor for the wrist, follow these tips:
Our video tip for the correct blood pressure measurement at the wrist.
Blood pressure can be measured on the upper arm or on the wrist. Various tests have shown the measurement results are just as reliable when measuring blood pressure on the wrist as on the upper arm providing the measurement is carried out correctly.
Measuring blood pressure with an upper arm blood pressure monitor always guarantees an automatically correct measurement at heart level. Especially for older people, smokers, and patients with arrhythmia or diabetes, an upper arm blood pressure monitor is recommended. Wrist blood pressure monitors are also perfectly suitable for on-the-go due to their compact, handy size.
It is recommended to measure your blood pressure regularly, especially if you have risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, such as smoking, overweight, an unhealthy diet, or a family history of heart disease. Your doctor can advise you on how often you should check your blood pressure, based on your individual risk profile.
After you have measured your blood pressure, it is important to interpret the results correctly.
When measuring blood pressure, 2 values are displayed: the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Systolic blood pressure (upper value): This is the pressure in the arteries during the contraction of the heart muscle. An optimal systolic blood pressure is typically below 120 mmHg.
Diastolic blood pressure (lower value): This is the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats, when the heart is relaxed. An optimal diastolic blood pressure is typically below 80 mmHg.
A blood pressure chart gives you a rough guideline for interpreting blood pressure values.
However, these standard values serve only as a general guideline, as individual blood pressure varies among different people, genders, and age groups. At the same time, fluctuations in blood pressure are completely normal. Even with a repeat measurement, larger measurement differences can occur. Single or irregular measurements therefore do not provide a reliable statement about the actual blood pressure. A reliable assessment is only possible if you measure your blood pressure regularly and under comparable conditions. If there are abnormalities in the measured values, we recommend that you see a doctor.
The built-in risk indicator in many Beurer blood pressure monitors makes the classification of the measurement results even easier to understand. The colour scale indicates directly during the measurement whether your measured values are within the normal range or deviate and should be observed further.