check your blood pressure, you can follow these steps:
1. Prepare
Avoid eating, drinking, or exercising for 30 minutes before taking your blood pressure. Empty your bladder and sit in a comfortable chair with your back supported for at least five minutes.
2. Position
Sit with your feet flat on the floor and your legs uncrossed. Rest your arm on a table or other surface so that your upper arm is level with your heart.
3. Cuff
Wrap a blood pressure cuff snugly around your upper arm, directly above the bend in your elbow. The cuff should be the right size for your body.
4. Inflate
A healthcare provider will inflate the cuff with a hand pump or automated device. You'll feel the cuff tighten around your arm, which temporarily blocks blood flow.
5. Deflate
The provider will slowly release air from the cuff.
6. Listen
If your blood pressure is being measured manually, the provider will use a stethoscope to listen to your pulse in your brachial artery.
7. Record
The provider will record the systolic pressure when you first hear your pulse, and the diastolic pressure when the sound stops.
8. Repeat
Repeat the procedure two or more times.
You can also use apps or wrist devices to measure your blood pressure, but experts say these are often not reliable.
