Keeping track of your own blood pressure can be an important part of managing hypertension or preventive health care. Best blood pressure kits include everything you need to get accurate results.
Choose between cuffs that inflate manually by using a bulb or automatic blood pressure monitors. Some blood pressure kits from brands Zewa, Life Source, and Veridian Healthcare have digital displays to help you read your numbers more easily.
Related article: Blood Pressure Readings
Types of Monitor
Blood pressure kits have popular upper arm blood pressure monitors, and others are wrist blood pressure monitors that can be more comfortable to use. Some digital blood pressure monitors can keep track of your averages for long-term monitoring.
Blood pressure software can help you manage your hypertension from your computer. You can also find replacement blood pressure cuffs in different sizes.
Additional Home Medical Supplies
We also carry other aids for your health and well-being, specifically your heart health. There are supplements and vitamins that you can take daily, as well as assistance for smoking cessation to help your blood pressure.
Aids for daily living can help make life a little easier and include hearing assistance, knee braces, ankle supports, and patient aids.
How to Use a Home Best Blood Pressure Kit
A good way to keep track of high blood pressure is to test it at home. Medical experts think that monitoring hypertension at home may help prevent other medical problems.
Control Hypertension or High Blood Pressure
Besides having your blood pressure checked at the doctor’s office, there is evidence that using a home blood pressure kit can help control hypertension or high blood pressure.
In fact, the American Heart Association has recommended that all people with hypertension regularly test blood pressure at home to help manage their condition.
Today, you can purchase a home blood pressure kit, also known as a sphygmomanometer, at your local pharmacy or discount store.
A home blood pressure kit includes an arm cuff, a system that registers pressure, and in some types of monitors, a stethoscope.
There are various types of blood pressure monitoring devices, and they all have pros and cons. All types work well only if you are using a cuff of the correct size, so start by asking your doctor what size you should purchase.
Mercury Best Blood Pressure Kits
A mercury blood pressure kit is the type of monitoring device you normally see in your doctor’s office. It works when gravity moves a column of mercury to determine your blood pressure.
A mercury blood pressure kit is considered the most accurate way to test your blood pressure since it doesn’t need to be readjusted over time.
But mercury spills can be hazardous, so these kits are not often recommended for use in the home.
There are, however, mercury blood pressure kits designed for home use, which include a hand-inflatable cuff attached to a stethoscope. These home kits are more lightweight and safer than those used in healthcare settings.
Aneroid: Best Blood Pressure Kits
Aneroid kits are lightweight, portable, and inexpensive devices that can monitor your high blood pressure at home. These devices use a hand-inflatable blood pressure cuff and a built-in stethoscope, and the blood pressure reading is generated via a pointer on a dial.
The major disadvantage of aneroid monitors is that they can become damaged over time and lose their accuracy. You should take your aneroid monitor to your regular doctor’s visits so you can check it against a mercury monitor.
Digital Best Blood Pressure Kits
A digital home blood pressure kit is an easy-to-use device that has a built-in stethoscope and displays your blood pressure on a digital screen. Automatic digital kits make measuring your blood pressure even easier by automatically inflating the wrist or arm cuff.
Digital kits are more expensive and more sensitive to body movements than other types of blood pressure kits. And since these devices are complex, they must also be regularly checked for accuracy against mercury monitors.
Pros and Cons of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
Home blood pressure monitoring is a safe and effective way for most people to keep track of their blood pressure between visits with their doctor. Home monitoring may be especially beneficial if you:
1. Are starting a medication to manage hypertension and want to see how well it is working
2. Have coronary heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or another condition that warrants frequent blood pressure monitoring are pregnant
3. Have white-coat hypertension are elderly
4. Could have masked hypertension
Home Monitoring
Home monitoring is not recommended for some people, including those who have heart arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, since a home blood pressure kit may not be accurate for them.
Keeping Track of Best Blood Pressure Kit Readings
If you monitor your blood pressure at home, it is a good idea to keep a chart as a record of your blood pressure readings. You can take this chart with you to health care visits so your doctor can see how your blood pressure has fluctuated over time.
Talk to your doctor about the advantages and disadvantages of home blood pressure monitoring. He or she can tell you what blood pressure level range is normal for you and work with you to ensure that your device is accurate by checking it against a mercury device at least once a year.
(FAQs) About Best Blood Pressure Kits
Q. Are home blood pressure kits accurate?
Answer: It also helps doctors make quick medication adjustments to stay vital signs within the healthy zone. But home vital sign monitors aren’t always as accurate as they ought to be.
Q. Can taking your blood pressure too often make it go up?
Answer: Do not check your blood pressure too often. Some people find that they become worried or stressed about small changes in their readings if they take them too often.
Q. Why is my blood pressure different every time I take it?
Answer: Some variation in vital signs throughout the day is normal, especially as a response to small changes in lifestyle like stress, exercise, or how well you slept the night before. But fluctuations that occur regularly over a number of doctor visits may indicate an underlying problem.
Final Thoughts
Keeping track of your own blood pressure can be an important part of managing hypertension or preventive health care. Best Blood pressure kits here at Walgreens.com can include everything you need to get accurate results.
Choose between cuffs that inflate manually by using a bulb or automatic blood pressure monitors. Some blood pressure kits from brands Zewa, Life Source, and Veridian Healthcare have digital displays to help you read your numbers more easily.
