Do I still have high blood pressure?

Hello,

I'm 27 y.o. male, fit and in good shape, however I frequently seem to get high systolic blood pressure readings when I test it at a doctors (140-150). I felt a bit nervous in this situation, so I bought a home blood pressure monitor to check it in a comfortable atmosphere.

When I sit down and read a book for 5 minutes before I test it, happily I get normal BP readings, such as 120-125 / 80. However, if I sit down, strap on the cuff and test it without a lengthy rest time, I tend to get much higher readings of 140-145 / 80. I am not doing anything strenuous before this, but without sitting resting on the same chair, it seems to be higher!

I think it's strange that my readings vary so much. Could someone let me know what readings I should take as accurate?

Thanks!

[cindy707]

Try to remember that there is a huge margin of error with home b/p monitors.  The system needs to be calibrated annually for accuracy.  What i would do if possible is to take your cuff to the nearest drugstore where they have a free b/p machine that you can test yourself near the pharmacy and use their machine first and then immediately after use yours.  Those machines are calibrated in the pharmacy areas on a regular basis and tend to be pretty accurate.  If your monitor shows a fairly huge difference you know you need to either upgrade to a better monitor or go to a hospital supply store in your area and find out which one is recommended to you.  To me this is a red flag that something is wrong with your home system...good luck with this....

[Sam8383]

Hi there, that's a helpful idea. It hadn't occurred to me, as the b/p monitor is quite new (I got it about a year ago). But I will certainly check up on that. Thank you!