Hi all - Now that I've seem to have gotten over my home monitor white coat syndrome, I'm noticing wild fluctuations with my BP monitor. For instance, my first reading was 141/85, then waited a few minutes tried again and it was 127/86, again a few minutes later and it was 121/83. My monitor is a brand new bicep cuff Omron.

Can anyone tell me which reading I should go with? :confused: Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. I 'm confused.

Maybe you still aren't over the "white coat" problem in your first reading, regardless of the color of your coat. :D Some people who tend to have anxiety with BP readings, do take three readings, throw out the first one, and average the others. Now that I've been doing this for years, I only take one reading unless that reading seems "off" from what I'd expected based on my anxiety level at the time and recent readings.

It could just be a difference in technique, too. Were you seated quietly for some time before your first reading? Some suggest five minutes, some ten, some 15. Were your feet flat on the floor? Were you seated in a chair that doesn't put undue pressure on any part of your body? (If taking the reading at my dining room, I have to put something under my feet, to raise them just a bit, as I'm very short-legged.) Was your arm at heart level? (Sitting in the dining room chair with chair turned sideways to the table and my arm resting on the table works best for me. The arm of the chair is too low to be heart level on me.) Did you remain quiet while you were taking your presure? Talking or even what you are thinking can sometimes cause some changes. Or it could be just normal fluctuations from minute to minute. That happens, too, and is nothing to worry about. Your readings over a period of time will sort out the picture.

Redherring-

I have always had exactly the same thing happen with me, no matter which arm-cuff monitor I use.
I, like you, presently have a bicep cuff OMRON and well controlled BP (average 116/70) but my first reading (out of 3) is always about 10, sometimes 15 points (systolic) higher.

Try Uff-da's technique/protocol.
Take 3 readings, throw out the first and average the last 2.

zuzu xx

I had that same problem yesterday!! I took it and it was 177/98, then it was 150/112 then it was 134/74! All within 15 minutes! (I'm on BP meds and the HIGHEST I ever got at home was the mid 40's over 90!) I don't even get those high numbers at the DOCTORS! My mom said it COULD be the cuff - yours didn't fluctuate as wildly, so it could be YOU - blood pressure fluctuates minute by minute. Your bottom numbers were fairly consistant, while mine went from 112 to 74 in 6 minutes! So I think your cuff is probably ok.

redherring,

Here's how I would treat those numbers. I, too take three readings and record the middle of each value.
Thus: 141/85; 127/86; and 121/83 gets reported as 127/85.
This will very likely get rid of any fluke reading.

:bouncing: BP goes up and down all the time. I can sit down for 1 minute and start my bp monitor then I wait 10 minutes and it goes down almost 20 points on both. So I take about 3 measurements within 7 minutes and take the average of all of them. It seems to represent what I get at the docs even with white coat...

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments! It's just strange to have such variations in readings within 10 minutes.

You're supposed to wait at least 10 minutes before taking your blood pressure again. It's takes that long for your arm to come back to it's normal pressure. I noticed it still went down after waiting 15 minutes but not as much. I have the white coat syndome but I also freak out when I take it myself.

Hi all - Now that I've seem to have gotten over my home monitor white coat syndrome, I'm noticing wild fluctuations with my BP monitor. For instance, my first reading was 141/85, then waited a few minutes tried again and it was 127/86, again a few minutes later and it was 121/83. My monitor is a brand new bicep cuff Omron.

Can anyone tell me which reading I should go with? :confused: Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. I 'm confused.


I have the exact same problem, and it's related to anxiety in my case. I usually start out around 148/85 and after several more readings I finally get down to around 115/75. I also white coat hypertension. At my doctor's office, my BP is usually around 140/85. That's not good as some doctors will diagnose you as having essential hypertension right off the bat. My doctor, however, knows what my typical readings are on a consistent basis and is therefore not worried about the white coat hypertension at this time.

I just had the occasion to be in the ER and I took my BP monitor with me.
While being hooked up to their monitors my BP was averaging about 110/55 and I decided to check my BP monitor on the other arm. I was getting readings around 145/90. The nurse said it was probably because of the different arms. I was there for about three hours and during that time my BP reamained stable at about 110/55 but my monitor was reading 145/90.
After I was disconnected and sitting and waiting to be released I checked the same arm the hospital was using and again I got a much higher
reading. They sent me directly to a cardiologist with all my paper work. They checked my BP there and once again it was 115/60 and my monitor was about 35-40/35-40 higher. Doctor took my off BP meds and beta blocker and told me to stop taking supplements to lower my BP. When I got home I checked my monitor, an auto arm cuff very good model, and it was still reading high. I then checked my wrist monitor, which I know is not accurate, and it was reading high. I can't explain it, but I am off meds and feeling good.

I just had the occasion to be in the ER and I took my BP monitor with me.
While being hooked up to their monitors my BP was averaging about 110/55 and I decided to check my BP monitor on the other arm. I was getting readings around 145/90. The nurse said it was probably because of the different arms. I was there for about three hours and during that time my BP reamained stable at about 110/55 but my monitor was reading 145/90.
After I was disconnected and sitting and waiting to be released I checked the same arm the hospital was using and again I got a much higher
reading. They sent me directly to a cardiologist with all my paper work. They checked my BP there and once again it was 115/60 and my monitor was about 35-40/35-40 higher. Doctor took my off BP meds and beta blocker and told me to stop taking supplements to lower my BP. When I got home I checked my monitor, an auto arm cuff very good model, and it was still reading high. I then checked my wrist monitor, which I know is not accurate, and it was reading high. I can't explain it, but I am off meds and feeling good.VERYYYYYYYY Interesting!

Hi all - Now that I've seem to have gotten over my home monitor white coat syndrome, I'm noticing wild fluctuations with my BP monitor. For instance, my first reading was 141/85, then waited a few minutes tried again and it was 127/86, again a few minutes later and it was 121/83. My monitor is a brand new bicep cuff Omron.

Can anyone tell me which reading I should go with? :confused: Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. I 'm confused.


Hi Redherring,

Let me calm you fears a little with some reverse logic;;;


Aren't you glad your numbers went down instead of up? :)

You have nice readings, don't worry. :)

You're supposed to wait at least 10-15 minutes before taking another reading. It takes that long for your arm to come back to normal.

I just had the occasion to be in the ER and I took my BP monitor with me.
While being hooked up to their monitors my BP was averaging about 110/55 and I decided to check my BP monitor on the other arm. I was getting readings around 145/90. The nurse said it was probably because of the different arms. I was there for about three hours and during that time my BP reamained stable at about 110/55 but my monitor was reading 145/90.
After I was disconnected and sitting and waiting to be released I checked the same arm the hospital was using and again I got a much higher
reading. They sent me directly to a cardiologist with all my paper work. They checked my BP there and once again it was 115/60 and my monitor was about 35-40/35-40 higher. Doctor took my off BP meds and beta blocker and told me to stop taking supplements to lower my BP. When I got home I checked my monitor, an auto arm cuff very good model, and it was still reading high. I then checked my wrist monitor, which I know is not accurate, and it was reading high. I can't explain it, but I am off meds and feeling good.

I use the #1 rated BP monitor by Consumer Reports: Omron HEM-711AC

I took this monitor to my doctor and he tested it and said it was accurate.

Also, you will have a higher BP reading in your dominant arm as compared to the other. However, such a high difference, >=20 systolic and/or >=10 diastolic, may indicate pathology and worth further investigation.

I usually wait about a couple of minutes between readings and that's all that's necessary - the readings are pretty consistent.

icsue,

10-15 minutes between inflations is ideal, especially if your BP is very labile (erratic).. but most of the literature says it's perfectly reasonable to only wait " a few minutes"..meaning about 3-5.

I personally take 3 readings, 3 minutes apart.

I think that once BP has been well controlled, has become pretty much predictable, and is more or less in "sync" with doc office readings, (allowing for "white coat" elevations) it's okay NOT to spend 45 minutes taking it!

zuzu xx