Health

Taking my blood pressure can be a serious problem if I am agitated, scared, don’t like white lab coats and in a hurry getting to the doctors office as this can give me a false reading of high blood pressure.

Here is some helpful ideas that work for me and I hope they will benefit you as well.

1. Don’t smoke or drink coffee with all that caffeine  30 minutes before checking blood pressure

2. Sit comfortably for 5 minutes before check.

3. Go to the bathroom before check.

4. Relax with feet flat on floor.

5. Quiet the mind.

6. No talking.

7. Breathe deep and relax more.

Hopefully these tips will help you get an honest reading of your blood pressure. It also helps if you take it approximately the same time of day when you are doing the self monitoring. Taking my blood pressure somewhere else other than the doctors office also helps me to have the better readings as I apparently have the ‘white coat syndrome’. If you have this syndrome, you will note a drop of up to 100 points, when taken outside of a hospital or doctor’s office.

I also recommend that you add exercise to your daily schedules, even a ten minute walk, preferably outside in the fresh air where one can refresh the mind, exercise the body and feel the joy of being in connection with nature.

I also recommend that you add fresh raw fruits and fresh raw vegetables to every meal or at least 3 times a day. You do need potassium rich foods as this is a much needed ingredient for taking my blood pressure down to levels recommended. Of course, leave the salt shaker off the table and out of your foods. If you want a little salt use one from the health food store that has not been refined and chemically made such as a gray sea salt.

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