How to Take a Blood Pressure by Wrist

When your heart muscle beats it pushes blood out into the arteries so it can be circulated throughout your body. As the blood is pushed out, it exerts a force against the walls of the arteries. This force is measured by taking your blood pressure. Your blood pressure is measured with two numbers that are listed as a fraction such as 120/80. The top number is the systolic and represents when the heart contracts and pushes the blood out. The bottom number is the diastolic and represents the heart at rest. Since high blood pressure can exist without symptoms, taking your blood pressure is often the only way you will know if it is high, and putting you at risk for a heart attack or stroke.

Instructions

• 1

  Avoid stimulants. Before taking your blood pressure avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco for at least thirty minutes prior to taking your pressure. You should also go to the bathroom first.

• 2

  Rest quietly for thirty minutes prior to testing your pressure and do not talk. This will allow your body to calm down. Rest with good posture and do not cross your legs or arms as this will affect circulation.

• 3

  Adjust the cuff. Make sure you have the cuff on correctly. It should fit snugly and get tighter as it inflates. To get an accurate blood pressure reading your need to compress the blood vessels enough that you stop the flow of blood for a moment. As the cuff releases pressure and the arteries reopen, the machine will be able to detect the pressure. There are wrist blood pressure machines that will not start to take your pressure until the cuff is on correctly and your arm position is right.

• 4

  Before starting the machine, rest your wrist on a flat surface so that it is at the same level as your heart. This will ensure a more accurate reading. You do not want to take your pressure when your heart is pumping blood up or down to your wrist.

• 5

  Sit quietly and do not move around or talk while taking your pressure. Allow the cuff to fully inflate and then slowly deflate. Most machines will flash or beep to let you know when the reading is complete. Read the directions that came with your machine for specific information about how your blood pressure cuff works.

• 6

  Check Its accuracy. After taking your pressure at home a few times and recording the results, take the machine to your doctor's office. The reading you get from your machine can be checked against that at the doctor's office to see how accurate your wrist blood pressure machine is.