My results from this morning; why so different? - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

abergeron · 02-05-2009, 05:49 AM

I took my BP on my home monitor three times this morning, within about 1 minute between each reading (no time for 5 min). Here's what I got:

144/85
122/84
139/81

Why would it fluctuate so much within a span of 3 minutes? Is this an accuracy issue (see my other post on this page). I used the medium size cuff instead of the large.

Also, why does it pump up to a different pressure each time? Sometimes it pumps up as high as 180 before deflating, sometimes only to 160. Usually when it pumps to a lower number, I have a lower reading. Of course, then when it pumps higher, I get a quick rush of anxiety, so who knows if that's skewing the result.

Thanks for your insights.

Machaon · 02-05-2009, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abergeron

Here's what I got:

144/85
122/84
139/81

The bottom line is that all three readings are a little high. Blood pressure gauges are not exact and frequently make less than totally correct readings. Were those the types of readings that you normally get?

I've taken my blood pressure with an Omron over 26,000 times in the past 10 years, or an average of 7 times per day. Personally, I have not been interested in exactly correct readings as much as I have been interested in getting the relative, somewhat reliable readings down to healthy levels.

Blood Pressure usually increases during the day, being the highest during the evening.

Do you have any "evening" readings?

abergeron · 02-05-2009, 08:15 AM

Thank you, Machaon, for your response. I appreciate it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Machaon

Do you have any "evening" readings?

Yes, although not from the past week or so. If you read the other thread I started, I've been having some trouble figuring out which cuff to use and not feeling very confident in the results of the test since I routinely get such drastic changes in back-to-back tests. I have had readings as low as low 110s/ low 70s and as high as high 140s/ low 90s. It's hard to figure out my "consistent" BP with readings like this, know what I mean?

I also think I'm prone to having anxiety pushing up the readings, but I'm not sure. I try to relax, breathe deeply and slowly, and really calm myself when taking my pressure, but I'm a fairly anxious person to begin with. This morning was weird in that I got a high reading, spent about a minute of deep breathing, then got a relatively normal reading, breathed/relaxed some more, and it was a little high again.

Any other insights on how I can better determine my "consistent" BP?

Thanks again!

rudiraven · 02-05-2009, 08:36 AM

You need to allow more time between readings so the blood vessels can relax and get back to "normal". Taking multiple BP readings so quickly is why you're getting such inconsistant readings. You should take it once in the morning, once in the afternoon (I took my monitor to work) and once in the evening. Do this for a couple weeks and you should get a good "average" BP reading for yourself. Once you get into a routine, it should help to lessen your anxiety. Your BP is not that bad, just a little high and it's probably due to anxiety. Try to relax and quit worrying. That just makes it worse

. Take care.

Machaon · 02-05-2009, 08:37 AM

My 26,000 bp readings are seldom less than 30 minutes apart. If I am having a difficult time bringing the numbers down, I'll take another reading 15 minutes after the first one. I have found that if I take readings too close together, I get screwy readings like you. I think that it has something to do with the compression of the artery. The older one is, the more fragile the arteries.

Regardless of stress and anxiety, which is impossible to avoid at work, during rush hour traffic, during taking your blood pressure, etc., the important thing is getting those readings down more towards healthy levels.

If stress causes a blood pressure increase from 140/80 to 160/90; then if we reduce our blood pressure by 5 points, we are then dealing with a range of 135/75 to 155/85. Stress is nasty and can cause all kinds of health problems. So...... we need to reduce the impact of stress on our blood pressure mainly through diet, exercise and appropriate medication.

I have no idea about cuff size. Perhaps another more knowledgable fellow patient can shed some light on that.