Did you know that your blood pressure changes every second? This change depends on what you are doing, thinking, and feeling. This is one reason to get your blood pressure checked more often than your routine doctor visit. You may discover that your blood pressure is normal more often during your waking hours, and that high blood pressure occurs only certain times. These times are often stress related.
One of the best ways to see what
stressors cause your blood pressure to be high (or low) is with ambulatory
blood pressure monitoring. ABPM is simple to do for patients. Own a blood
pressure monitor of your choice be it arm or wrist. These are quite inexpensive
and affordable. Use it to check your blood pressure three times a day and
at times of your choice.
Record your daily readings for at
least a month. Review your recorded readings. This will show you
patterns of your blood pressure. Certain times of day almost every day or
on some days note the times it is abnormal. For instance, every Monday it
is high, and by the weekend it is normal. Those first days of the week
especially during work hours is one of the main times it reveals itself.
Listen to it! You may also find stressful situations like pain, anxiety, and
even healthy excitement can lead to high blood pressure.
As you see the patterns, you
become more mindful of what induces hypertension. Often times you may have
certain symptoms that correlate. Find ways to decrease those
moments. For example, many patients get an extra bump up in blood
pressure from watching violent video content regardless of the source.
When you wait to see the doctor just getting ready may be a high blood pressure
trigger.
