Choosing blood pressure monitor and positioning the

cuff

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If you do decide to measure your blood pressure at home, you will need to get a home blood pressure monitor. There is a wide range of home blood pressure monitors available, but it is important to be sure that the blood pressure monitor you choose is accurate and the right one for you.

Choosing the best home blood pressure monitor for you

Source: British hypertension society

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There are many different kinds of home blood pressure monitor, but it is easiest to use a monitor that is fully automatic (digital). Choose one that measures your blood pressure at your upper arm, rather than at your wrist or finger. Upper-arm blood pressure monitors usually give the most accurate and consistent results.

Automatic blood pressure monitors

Source: British hypertension society

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Make sure that the home blood pressure monitor with CE certification or FDA approval. This means that the digital blood pressure monitor has gone through a series of tests to make sure it gives results that you and your doctor can trust.

Make sure your monitor is accurate

Source: British hypertension society

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An upper-arm blood pressure monitor will come with a cuff that you need to wrap around your arm. If you use a cuff that is the wrong size for you, your blood pressure reading will not be correct. Measure around your upper arm at the midpoint between your shoulder and elbow, and choose your cuff size from the chart below.

Make sure you have the right cuff size

Measurement

Source: British hypertension society

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MEASUREMENTSUpper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor cuff sizes

Measurement (cm) Measurement (inches) Cuff size

18-22 cm 7.1-8.7” Small

22-32 cm 8.8-12.8” Medium

32-45 cm 12.8-18” Large

Most home blood pressure monitors will come with a medium-sized cuff. You may have to order a different-sized cuff separately.

Source: British hypertension society

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Cuff WidthThe width of the cuff should be ideally be no more or less than 2/3th of the upper arm.

If the cuff is too narrow or too wide, it will affect the accuracy of the result.As a rough guild, there should be a approx. 2 finger space armpit and the inner aspect of the elbow.

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Cuff LengthModern cuff has “ range” marker to provide a visual indication that a cuff is correct length.

The bladder should ideally be encircle 80% of the upper arm , but no more than 100% .

If the bladder is to short or overlaps of on itself, this will affect of the accuracy of digital blood pressure monitor measurement.

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Positioning the cuff on the armModern cuffs have a arrow or line to indicate where to correctly place the cuff over the brachial artery.

If the arrow is missing find internal bladder and fold it in half, the midpoint is where the arrow would be. Place the midpoint over brachial artery.

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1.Choose the right blood pressure 2.Measure the upper arm3.Select correct size cuff4.Position the bladder with the arrow of (midline) over the brachial artery.

5. Firmly wrap and secure the cuff.

summary

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