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Today is the 564th issue of Jian Ge Said to accompany you
If you have high blood pressure, your doctor will often recommend that you measure your blood pressure at home. In fact, not only people with high blood pressure, but all people, including those who think their blood pressure is normal, should regularly measure blood pressure at home.
So, what are the benefits of measuring blood pressure at home? Why would your doctor recommend that you take your blood pressure at home? Today, we will talk about this topic.
Advantages of home self-testing blood pressure
Blood pressure measured at home, also known as "home self-test blood pressure", not only has some obvious advantages, such as ease of operation, and is not affected by time and environment, there are many "invisible" advantages [1], the following to introduce you:
1) Identify white coat hypertension and occult hypertension. Most people determine whether they have hypertension through the blood pressure measured by the doctor in the clinic, so it is easy to misdiagnose white coat hypertension (that is, the blood pressure in the examination room is high, the family self-test blood pressure is not high) and the occult hypertension (that is, the blood pressure in the clinic is not high, and the family self-test blood pressure is high). Home self-test blood pressure can make up for this.
2) More predictive advantage than office blood pressure. Home self-test blood pressure has been found to predict blood pressure damage to target organs, the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and death, and is even better predictable than in-office blood pressure [2].
3) Helps with blood pressure management. Regular monitoring of blood pressure can increase patient awareness of blood pressure management, improve medication adherence and blood pressure control rates, which has been confirmed in many previous studies. For patients with hypertension who have just been diagnosed with hypertension or who have just changed medications, patients who use home-based self-test blood pressure for drug adjustment have better blood pressure control than patients who use office blood pressure. Treatment adjustments based on home-based self-measured blood pressure have also been found to reduce cardiovascular disease risk and improve patient outcomes [1].
4) Cost-effective and high patient acceptance. Home self-test blood pressure can be widely used in most areas, and can be used repeatedly for a long time, cost-effective, almost no discomfort reaction, most patients are willing to accept.
It can be seen that there are many benefits of home self-testing blood pressure, and the mainland family blood pressure monitoring guidelines also point out that home blood pressure monitoring has become an indispensable means to effectively improve the awareness and control rate of hypertension [3]. Therefore, the doctor not only advises you, but also that everyone should have their blood pressure measured regularly at home.
Precautions for home self-test blood pressure
However, there are also some precautions for home self-test blood pressure, which need to be paid attention to during monitoring.
The first is the choice of family sphygmomanometer, it is recommended to choose a fully automatic electronic sphygmomanometer according to the upper arm type oscilloscope method that has been verified for accuracy, and select a cuff of the right size according to the circumference of the upper arm.
Secondly, it is necessary to measure blood pressure correctly, we mentioned in previous periods that the sitting posture of measuring blood pressure, the behavior before and after the measurement are exquisite, you can refer to the following figure to adjust.
In addition, it is important not to be anxious because of the high blood pressure value of a certain measurement, or even frequent measurements. Blood pressure fluctuations are normal, if the blood pressure suddenly rises, not more than 180/110mmHg, there are no other uncomfortable symptoms, you can measure again after a quiet rest, blood pressure smoothly declines without worry; if the blood pressure exceeds 180/110mmHg, or dizziness, chest tightness, chest pain and other symptoms, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible.
Finally, if the patient has arrhythmias and is not suitable for the general home sphygmomanometer, they need to go to the hospital for a professional examination.
Brother Jian said
Home self-testing of blood pressure is not only simple and easy, but also helps with blood pressure management, which is an important predictor of patient prognosis.
Everyone should know their blood pressure, and it is recommended that you have a regular home self-test of blood pressure.
To measure blood pressure at home, a family sphygmomanometer that meets the standards should be selected, pay attention to the steps and methods of measurement, and record the blood pressure value for the doctor's reference.
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Works by Professor Liu Jian