How Often Should Home Blood Pressure Readings be Taken?
A. When you have taken the trouble to get out your blood pressure monitor and set it up, it makes sense to take more than one reading. A lot of people find that, even when taking their own blood pressure, the first reading is higher than subsequent ones (the same as happens when a doctor is taking your pressure), so we routinely recommend taking a series of three readings on each occasion. It is also a good idea to take readings at least twice a day- when you first wake up, and when you go to bed (particularly if you are taking medications), because there is often a difference between morning and evening values. How many days a week you take your pressure depends to a large extent on where you are in your treatment program. If you are in the early stages, when it is still not clear whether you need to start taking medication, it is helpful to take readings relatively frequently (for example, three or four times a week for at least two weeks).
