There are many reasons to keep a blood pressure monitor at home, the main one being that high blood pressure (also known as hypertension) frequently has no symptoms and can easily go undetected, explains Karishma Patwa, M.D., cardiologist at Manhattan Cardiology in New York City. “People may not be aware they have high blood pressure until they suffer a significant health consequence, like a heart attack or stroke.” Monitoring blood pressure on your own, therefore, could quite literally be life-saving.
Plus, measuring blood pressure at home helps you and your doctor get a better understanding of your levels, as an anxiety-induced phenomenon called “white coat syndrome” is often responsible for elevated numbers during office visits, explains Ernst von Schwarz, M.D., a Los Angeles-based cardiologist and author of The Secrets of Immortality. “More readings mean more accuracy,” adds Dr. Patwa. “Blood pressure can change throughout the course of the day. Home monitoring allows for multiple readings at different times, providing a more accurate picture.”
From there, the insights can help you adjust your lifestyle to maintain healthy levels, as factors like stress, exercise, and diet all have an impact. So, whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension, if you don’t already monitor your blood pressure at home, now is a good time to start.
