Factors Affecting Blood Pressure Readings

High blood pressure is a condition that has a lot of negative effects on your body but usually has no symptoms. The only way to tell if you have it is to take blood pressure readings with a monitor. The top number is the systolic reading that measures the force of blood against your arteries when your heart beats. The bottom number is the diastolic pressure that measures the force of blood on your arteries between beats when your heart is at rest. You can check your blood pressure, wait 10 minutes and come up with a different number when you recheck it. There are many factors that can affect your blood-pressure readings.

White-Coat Hypertension

• When anxiety raises blood pressure in a medical setting, it's called white-coat hypertension. Taking blood pressure readings away from the doctor's office in a comfortable setting is recommended. White-coat hypertension is one of the reasons doctors suggest that you keep a blood pressure monitor at home and make a record of readings on a regular basis.

Time Frame

• Most factors that affect your blood pressure reading do so only temporarily. Others increase resting blood pressure over time until it becomes too high. These include smoking, drinking alcohol, stress and sleep apnea.

Factors During Readings

• Something as simple as moving your arm while your blood pressure is being taken can affect the reading. If the sleeves of your shirt fit too tightly over the cuff or if the cuff size is wrong, readings could be inaccurate. Faulty equipment can also contribute to readings that aren't correct.

Features

• When a blood pressure reading is being taken, you should be sitting in a comfortable position. Your arm should be supported and horizontal at heart level. Both arms may need to be tested, since there are sometimes differences in blood pressure readings between arms.

Considerations

• Other factors include age, race, temperature, medication, emotions, stress, exercise, smoking and medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, irregular heart beat, pregnancy and alcoholism. These factors need to be taken into account to determine an accurate measurement of blood pressure.