How to Take Your Blood Pressure at Home

Home readings are only useful if they are taken the same careful way each time. This checklist covers the habits most home blood pressure guidance agrees on. Your device's manual and your clinician's instructions come first if they differ.

Before you measure

• Avoid caffeine, exercise, and smoking for at least 30 minutes beforehand.
• Use the bathroom first. A full bladder can affect a reading.
• Sit quietly for about five minutes before the first reading.

Your position

• Sit in a chair with your back supported and your feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed.
• Rest your arm on a table so the cuff is at about heart level.
• Do not talk, scroll your phone, or watch something stressful while the cuff inflates.

The cuff

• Put the cuff on bare skin, not over a sleeve, on your upper arm.
• Use a cuff that fits your arm. A cuff that is too small or too large can give misleading numbers, and the device's instructions say how to check.
• Use the same arm each time unless your clinician tells you otherwise.

Taking and recording the readings

• Take two readings about a minute apart, and record both.
• Write down every reading, including ones that surprise you. A log is more useful when nothing has been left out.
• Note the date and whether it was morning or evening.

Following a 7-day schedule? Read the 7-day protocol explained.