Blood is carried from the heart to all parts of your body in blood vessels called arteries. With each heart beat, blood pumps out into your arteries. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries, when the heart beats and when the heart relaxes. This is similar to the pressure of water in a garden hose.
Sometimes a person has problems with their blood pressure because of:
Sometimes doctors cannot find the cause of high blood pressure; this is called essential hypertension.
When blood pressure problems develop, the person will often have to check their blood pressure regularly, depending on their doctor’s recommendations. If the person has difficulty holding and handling the equipment or is not able to remember to check the blood pressure, you might become the one who takes the blood pressure measurements.
The doctor will decide how often the person you care for requires blood pressure monitoring. In order for you to measure a person’s blood pressure correctly, you will need to know the following:
You will record each blood pressure measurement in a care diary. Also, be sure to write down what the person was doing just before having the blood pressure checked. Have the person take the diary to each doctor’s visit so that the doctor can see changes in blood pressure over a period of time. The doctor will use the information to adjust the person’s blood pressure medicines.
Before you measure a blood pressure, make sure the person is relaxed and comfortable.