If you have hypertension, a blood pressure wrist monitor can help you to keep track of it. But there are things you should know before you use one. First, it’s critical that you follow the manufacturer’s directions to the letter.
A wrist blood pressure monitor can be accurate, but they’re often used incorrectly and that leads to inaccurate results. In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that you use the type of blood pressure monitor that uses your upper arm for measurements.
The problem with blood pressure wrist monitors is that they’re extremely sensitive. You must keep your arm and your wrist in the right position – at the level of your heart – in order to get a good reading.
You may also notice that your blood pressure tends to be slightly higher when you use a wrist monitor than when you use one on your arm. That’s because the vessels in the wrist are much narrower.
That said, there are advantages to using a monitor that uses the wrist. For one, these monitors are much smaller than the type that uses the arm. That means you can pack it in your suitcase if you need to travel.
This allows you to take charge of your health no matter where you are. Wrist monitors are also usually battery powered which means you don’t have to be near a wall outlet in order to use one to measure your blood pressure.
There are other advantages to wrist monitors as well. For example, if you have a very large upper arm, it may not be practical to put a cuff around it and a wrist monitor can be more appropriate and comfortable.
To make sure you get the best results from your monitor, you should compare the results you get at home with those you get at your doctor’s office. You may even want to take our monitor to the doctor’s office to make sure you’re using it correctly.
If you don’t have issues with painful blood pressure readings from your upper arm and you’re able to be home to take it regularly, you’ll want to go with a traditional blood pressure monitor that’s more accurate.
However, if you travel a lot or you experience pain when your arm is used to measure blood pressure, it’s a good idea to have a blood pressure wrist monitor – you may even choose to have both so you’re bases are covered.
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