by Susan Schachter, MSRDN August 30, 2022 2 min read
I believe that everyone reading this is interested in achieving or maintaining healthy blood pressure. Most of us have learned what we need to do in our lives to assist us in accomplishing that desired outcome. Our progress in this pursuit is measured by our blood pressure readings. My question to all of you is, are we measuring it correctly?
In the United States, normal blood pressure is presently defined as less than 120/80. As we all know, there are many factors that impact that number. For instance, our weight, our food choices, whether or not we smoke, whether or not we exercise, how we deal with stress, how much alcohol we consume, whether or not we take prescribed blood pressure meds, etc. But did you realize that how our blood pressure reading is measured is important as well? It is!!!
What is important in terms of getting an accurate measurement? According to the American Heart Association (Hypertension May 2019 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/HYP.0000000000000087):
As we are doing our best to implement healthy blood pressure normalization choices, an accurate blood pressure measurement reading can help us truly understand how our circulatory system is doing and accordingly, make the right lifestyle & dietary choices!
Here’s to your health!
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