How to best monitor blood pressure?

[Dominique]

Not related to Fitbit, and not sure where to ask this, so I thought I’d ask here, as there are probably people knowledgeable about this. I’ve never owned a blood pressure monitor and as I seldom see doctors, I don’t have my BP checked very often (mostly by my sister, who is a doctor). However, I just bought myself a nice Bluetooth BP monitor from Withings and I intend to routinely take my BP on a regular basis. Like with the Fitbit Aria for weight and body fat, and Fitbit trackers for steps, calories etc., the nice thing about the Withings BP monitor is all readings get automatically stored (no need to write them down).

Now to my question: the mobile app that operates the BP monitor has two modes, automatic and regular. In automatic mode, it will take three consecutive measurements, and the delay between measurements that can be 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds:

 I understand three consecutive measurements will be more accurate (the app will save the average of the three measurements), but they will take more time (especially with the longer delays). So is it better to take a single measurement everyday, or the series of three measurements less often (e.g. once a week), and if so, what would be the optimal delay between measurements?

My BP is within the normal range. This is what a single measurement looks like in the mobile app:

I just want to start collecting BP data for future use (if needed) and I would like to know what is the optimal way to do it.

[WendyB]

I didnt use to monitor mine until Work caused me to have very high blood pressure. Since I am now retired its getting back in to control.

I have an Omron BP742N. But I just keep mine logged in a Excel Spreadsheet.

[WendyB]

oops forgot to answer some of your questions.

I use to take it daily but it really didn't prove anything. So I now just take it every other day.

When I was in the hospital the only time they took it more  then once was if it appeared to be really high. They never took it three times in a row

I have done it a few times before,  But it really doesn't change the number by a lot. I will take it twice if it seems way to high

[pevil]

I've recently been asked to monitor my own blood pressure by my doctor and not sure whether their way is right or not but they've told me to do it maybe 3 times a week, no more and at random times of the day (so not always at 9am but maybe do one reading at 9am on Monday, then maybe 6pm Wednesday and maybe noon on Saturday). They also ask me to do two readings at that time but with 5 minutes in between each one. So I'd probably be inclined in your case to go with the 3 readings just a few times a week.

[Dominique]

Belated thanks for your input! Since I don’t have any particular problems with my blood pressure right now and I’m primarily collecting data for future reference (if need be), I ended up taking my BP every morning just before having breakfast (so as to have comparable results), using a single measurement. This is what the graph looks like in the Withings mobile app (there are four display options; 1 m, 3 m, 1 y, all):

 I was afraid my BP would be too low, but according to Mayo Clinic, it’s only if systolic is < 90 or diastolic < 60, and even then only if there are noticeable symptoms (dizziness etc.). Since it’s not the case for me, I guess I’m OK and my only ailment is a tendency to hypochondria .

[WendyGB]

Looks good! 🙂