Measure your blood pressure regularly to help your health care team diagnose any health problems early. You and your health care team can take steps to control your blood pressure if it is too high.
Why you need to measure your blood pressure
Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it.
How to measure your blood pressure at home
Talk with your health care team about regularly measuring your blood pressure at home. This is called self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring.
SMBP means you regularly use a personal blood pressure measurement device away from a doctor's office or hospital. These blood pressure monitors are easy and safe to use. A healthcare team member can show you how to use one if you need help.
(The information above has been extracted from the CDC article "Measuring Your Blood Pressure". Click on the link to read the full article.)
The following chart can be downloaded from the American Heart Association.