FAQ

• What is blood pressure?

  In the most basic sense, blood pressure is a way of measuring how much force is being exerted on the walls of your blood vessels (artery) as blood flows through them. A blood measurement is expressed in the form of a fraction. Systolic is the top number. It represents the pressure as your heart contracts to pump blood to the body. Diastolic is the bottom number. It represents the pressure between beats, when your heart relaxes.

• Is the Systolic or Diastolic reading more important?

  Both readings are important. One measures your blood pressure during a heart contraction and the other measures blood pressure between heart contractions. For your particular situation, you should discuss both measurement results with your doctor.

• Is it normal for my blood pressure to vary?

  Yes, it is quite normal for people’s blood pressure to change throughout the day and night, or in different settings where you may measure your blood pressure. Many things, such as stress levels, food or drink intake, activity levels, even time of day can all affect a person’s blood pressure reading at any given time. In fact, there are published studies that show a given person’s blood pressure can change by up to 20mm within a day, based on activity levels, food/drink intake, stress, etc. This is why it is important to take your blood pressure on a regular basis, and review the overall trend of your blood pressure readings with your doctor. For a convenient tool to help you easily track your blood pressure readings, click here.

• Why should I monitor my blood pressure at home?

  The American Heart Association recommends that anyone with, or at risk of high blood pressure, should monitor their blood pressure at home. Home blood pressure monitoring is one of the best methods of trending a person’s blood pressure in their own environment.
  Click here for more information from the American Heart Association on who should monitor at home, and why.