Importance of home blood pressure monitoring
Doctors, diabetes educators, physician assistants, nurses and other healthcare professionals recommend home blood pressure monitoring for various reasons, including the ability to:
- Be constantly aware of a vital indicator about your overall health
- Provide your doctor with information to better understand and manage your high blood pressure
- See how you are responding to medication
- White-coat Hypertension: blood pressure reading is high in doctor's office but lower at home
- Masked Hypertension: blood pressure reading is low in doctor's office but higher at home
- Morning Hypertension: a sharp increase in blood pressure in the morning. Recent research has shown a significant link of morning hypertension to stroke.
Many types of hypertension can only be detected by monitoring your blood pressure at home, including:
Additionally, many factors can affect your blood pressure, including physical exertion, emotional fluctuations, medications and stress, so having your blood pressure monitored at a pharmacy with an in-store device after you have been shopping or walking around might not provide you with the most accurate measurement.
Monitoring your blood pressure at home allows you to more easily get to a relaxed state and the flexibility to take your measurements at various times during the day. By keeping track of your home blood pressure readings, you can provide your healthcare professional with a log of blood pressure measurements over time, which can help them evaluate the effective.