During my last visit to his clinic, my MD told me I had to understand how to lower blood pressure quickly since I had pre-hypertension and recommended that I buy a manual Blood Pressure Cuff and home BP machine. I was a little scared at having to take my own BPsince it’s always been done for me at the hospital and I’ve never taken it myself.
The nurse told me the best buy for me would be an aneroid BP machine with a Manual Blood Pressure cuff. It comes with everything built-in so I don’t need to worry about buying separate parts that might get lost. This is just an inflatable cuff with a gauge and a stethoscope, so it would be simple to monitor my BP.
When I got to the pharmacy, the girl there was very helpful and advised that I try a few manual blood pressure cuffs on first. After a few trials, I found one that was extremely comfortable for me. I learned about the fit (2 fingers must fit snugly under the cuff) and discovered the smooth nylon one felt better against my skin.
The next thing we checked was the gauge. The assistant taught me how to interpret the figures, and as it was a simple gauge she picked for me, I learned quite quickly. We chose a D-cuff with metal hooks so I could put it on easily myself. Thankfully, I don’t have arthritis, so I found the soft rubber bulb easy to inflate. The assistant also asked me about my hearing, since I need to use a stethoscope with the aneroid BP monitor. I didn’t have any problems, so she taught me to watch out for the first beep after the cuff is deflated and the pause after that. No problems there, thankfully.
My last instructions were to take it to my doctor’s clinic so it could be adjusted against his machine. She also told me to get the machine checked regularly, since any accidental drops or jarring could cause it to malfunction. Otherwise, no other maintenance is needed.
I’ve been using it for several months and I think it’s the best investment I’ve made for my health. Just taking my BP twice a day has helped me control my pre-hypertension, which is great. I’ll be depending on my aneroid Blood Pressure Monitor and manual blood pressure cuff for quite a while.
Roy Vandersang discusses the consequences of high blood pressure. Learn more about what is hypertension and diuretics for high blood pressure.