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Very high BP reading and very scared

Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Mar 27, 2023 | Replies (13)

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@heartme

I now use a wrist monitor at home that I calibrated with my Omron cuff monitor, had my husband test it, too to see if it was accurate. They can be very inaccurate if you don't follow the measurements of table height, etc. in the included manual. I love my Omron wrist monitor, makes such a big difference, no oversqueezing, no pain, no more anxiety at home when I use it.

Here is a comment I left earlier this week in a related post:

I suffered from blood pressure phobia! But then I found out that I had both "white coat anxiety" and that my Omron cuff was over-squeezing which was giving very inflated readings.

Here is how I broke the cycle:

I realized that having high blood pressure isn't the end of the/my world, so if I truly had it, it's manageable. This helped me relax.

I made sure that I was seated and relaxed for five minutes before I did a reading. I also did a breathing exercise through an app on my smartwatch during this time.

I did three readings a few minutes apart. The first was usually elevated, the second lower, the third normal. Over time all three became normal.

I started using an Omron wrist monitor and properly calibrated it exactly by following the measurement guide of table height, etc. I had my husband, who has stable blood pressure, test the wrist monitor and then the cuff monitor and they were the same.

I now enjoy anxiety-free readings and sometimes they are high if I am very stressed so I know i need to chill out. However I no longer have anxiety or fear of readings. I'm even getting lower pressure readings in my doctor's office!

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Replies to "I now use a wrist monitor at home that I calibrated with my Omron cuff monitor,..."

That is such good information. Thank you.I am definitely going to get a wrist cuff. In the cardiologist office,coming up very quickly, I will ask them to use a wrist cuff,if possible. My feeling about the regular arm cuff is now validated. Thank you.,again !
Eirrol