These 10 Mistakes Make Your Blood Pressure Look Too High

0:00 what if I were to tell you that you really don't have high blood pressure today we're going to go over the top 10 errors that people make when they're taking their blood pressure and then we're going to tell you how to do it the right way mistake number one using a wrist cuff wrist cuffs are convenient but very inaccurate there's a lot of position problems there they just don't work it's hard to use them and get them to work correctly and therefore you get a lot of Errors for a proper reading the wrist cuff must be exactly level of your heart any deviation even just a few inches up or down can significantly skew those results leading to falsely

0:45 elevated readings and sometimes low readings wrist cuffs show more variability compared to upper arm cuffs they're the gold standard the upper arm cuff to ensure accuracy get a valid ated upper arm cuff that's been tested for reliability this small change can dramatically improve the accuracy of your readings if you must use a wrist cuff ensure that your arm is fully supported and at the level of your heart and that you keep it move motionless don't move it at all keep it at Heart level and try to mitigate those risks and just better yet don't use a wrist cuff mistake number two not resting

1:31 before you measure your blood pressure imagine rushing into a doctor's office climbing the stairs or dealing with traffic stress and running across the street and up the stairs before getting your blood pressure checked that's very common and it leads to a lot of Errors remember rest for 5 to 10 minutes before a measurement at least five preferably 10 that allows your heart rate and your blood pressure to stabilize also remember not to drink coffee energy drinks or smoke at least 30 minutes before the test and here's the thing just don't smoke period and really don't use energy drinks even mild exercise can influence your blood pressure reading so remember that these

2:19 scenarios are common and failing to rest before a measurement can lead to artificially High readings skipping this step can result in over diagnos nois of high blood pressure and unnecessary medication for home measurements create a calm environment by sitting in a quiet space and practicing deep breathing mistake number three incorrect arm positioning the position of your arm during a blood pressure reading is critical and if the arm is too low the reading will be falsely High ideally your arm should be supported and at Heart level now let's think about it think of yourself as a big sack of water

3:07 you know when you're in a water tower or even when you're diving in the ocean or a lake the lower you go in that column of water the higher the pressure because water weighs more than air so the lower you go in your body when you consider yourself a sack of water the higher the pressure so the highest pressure is going to be down in your ankles the lowest pressure is going to be up here improper arm positioning can result in measurement errors of up to 10 mm of mercury that's a big number many people unknowingly let their arm dangle or rest on their laps leading to incorrect results now using an armrest or a table to support your arm can help you achieve

3:52 that correct position where the cuff is at Heart level consistent and arm positioning is key to obtaining reliable readings whether you're measuring at home or in a clinic also ensure that you're seated with your back supported and feet flat on the floor as improper posture can cause more problems more inaccurate results and inaccurate inappropriate treatment mistake number four talking during measurement talking while getting your blood pressure taken is a problem it might seem harmless but it's not it can significantly affect your results

4:40 talking increases heart rate and it can raise systolic blood pressure by OB 10 to 15 millim of mercury and again that's a lot even breathing impacts your heart rate and your blood pressure so think about that verbal distractions can lead to inaccurate readings especially in clinical settings so avoid this mistake remain silent and relaxed during the measurement and breathe deeply a quiet environment can make a noticeable difference in the accuracy of your blood pressure reading if you're measuring at home turn off distractions like the TV or radio maintain a calm atmosphere

5:25 here's mistake number five using the wrong siiz cuff using a cuff that doesn't fit properly is one of the most overlooked errors in blood pressure measurement we see it time and time again even in the doctor's office a cuff that's too small is going to give you false high blood pressure while one that's too large is going to give you false low blood pressure for example individuals with larger arms they use a standard siiz cuff they'll consistently get high readings and don't actually have those High readings to ensure accuracy measure your arm circumference and select the cuff that fits within the

6:11 manufacturer's recommended size range many devices now come with interchangeable cuffs or options for larger sizes to accommodate this specific issue and the various needs of larger arms now not securing the cuff tightly enough can lead to errors as well the cuff may not exert the necessary pressure to measure blood flow accurately that cuff is measuring the pressure needed to impact the flow and even stop the flow of blood in that artery so when purchasing a blood pressure cuff or monitor look for models that include clear guidelines on cuff sizing and positioning as these are critical for Reliable results regularly

6:59 inspect the cuff for signs of wear and tear such as fraying or loss of elasticity to ensure ongoing accuracy but that's not all we've got some more mistakes here and again they are common too mistake number six measuring at the wrong time of day blood pressure naturally fluctuates throughout the day peeking in the morning and dipping at night you know cortisol tends to peak in the morning and dip at night and it tends to impact your blood pressure too measuring at inconsistent times can lead to misinterpretation of your readings for example a morning reading might be higher due to the body's natural circadium rhythms circadian rhythms and as we mentioned cortisol while an

7:46 evening reading is likely to be a little bit lower this variability can create confusion and result in improper treatment decisions if the trends aren't accurately tracked so what I Rec recommend is that you put the time of day beside every blood pressure reading that you record now you can also just measure your blood pressure at the same time each day and preferably in the morning so we know what it is and you're looking at that what tends to be the highest level early morning early evening both of those are commonly checked those are generally recommended consistency is the key and again notifying us marking whether it's morning or evening keep a log of your

8:32 readings help your doctor identify patterns one or two blood pressure readings does not I mean it helps but it does not give us the whole picture it doesn't allow us to make informed decisions about your health consider using a digital monitor with memory storage to simplify tracking and provide accurate reports to your healthc care provider mistake number seven placing the cuff over clothing placing the cuff over clothing rather than directly on the skin is another very common error and again we even see it in doctor's offices they make an assumption oh this is light thin it's not going to impact it don't trust that don't try to make an estimate especially thick or tight clothing clearly will interfere with the

9:19 cu's ability to compress the artery properly leading to a false high or inconsistent result even clothing that might seem thin can sometimes do this so just don't do it the American Heart Association recommends rolling up your sleeves or removing restrictive clothing to ensure the cuff sits directly on your bare arm and whether or not you have some arguments with the American Heart Association most of us in the low carb Community often do and I have others as well but I don't argue with them about this at all they're right here don't wear restrictive clothing roll up your sleeves do your blood pressure measurement on the bare arm for best results choose loose fitting attire

10:05 loose fitting clothing when you know your blood pressure is going to be checked when you go to the health care provider additionally ensure that there's no bulky jewelry or accessories you just don't want to obstruct the Cuffs placement now these simple adjustments can make a big difference in getting accurate readings mistake number eight not emptying your bladder first a full bladder can increase systolic blood pressure by as much as 10 to 15 mm of mercury believe it or not and yes the evidence is out there the research has been done this is especially problematic especially in clinical settings when patients just don't think about it when they don't think about going to the bathroom they don't think about emptying

10:52 their bladder before the appointment and then sometimes when you get in there and you're waiting in the evaluation room you might have to pee but at that point maybe you're a little bit embarrassed don't be to ensure an accurate reading always empty your bladder before getting your blood pressure taken mistake number nine using a poorly calibrated device blood pressure monitors like any medical equipment require periodic calibration in order to maintain accuracy a poorly calibrated device can consistently provide wrong inaccurate readings leading to misdiagnosis or again improper treatment many manufacturers recommend annual

11:39 calibration checks which is often performed at a pharmacy or by the manufacturer if you've been using the same device for years without maintenance or calibration it's time for a checkup or an upgrade to a newer validated monitor investing in a reliable well-maintained device is essentially for long-term Health monitoring and if you think oh that's too expensive it may not be compare that to the co-pay for inappropriate medications or compare that to the health impact of a wrong diagnosis look for monitors that meet International standards for accuracy and keep a record of calibration dates to ensure ongoing

12:25 reliability mistake number 10 not taking multiple measurements on a single reading can be misleading as blood pressure can fluctuate up and down due to stress posture or even room temperature taking two or three readings in quick succession and averaging them out provides a much more accurate picture of your blood pressure many modern devices include a feature to calculate the average of multiple readings automatically ensure that wait one minute at least between those measurements to allow your blood vessels to return to their Baseline State before pumping that cuff up again this practice minimizes the impact of temporary

13:13 factors and ensures that your readings are as accurate as possible for even greater accuracy measure your blood pressure over several days share the averaged results with your healthc care provider in fact give him or her the all the numbers and don't forget to put down the time of day by each reading now that you know the mistakes that you might have been making see how to accurately take your blood pressure first of all prepare before measurement number one avoid caffeine alcohol exercise refrain from using these things caffeine alcohol and smoking all these things don't do any of them before

13:59 30 minutes before measurement avoid intense physical activity intense physical activity within half an hour before taking your blood pressure you do need in physical activity as part of your health behavior but not when you're trying to measure your blood pressure number two empty your bladder number three sit in a quiet comfortable place rest for at least five minutes take a deep breath before taking the measurement correct your positioning sit with proper posture that's number four by the way sit with proper posture sit in a chair with back support feet flat on the floor and legs uncrossed and if you're thinking about it and yes I heard it

14:44 before I did it wrong I actually had my legs crossed on one of our more popular videos the one where we looked at ABI ankle brachial index oh did I catch a lot of grief about that and I should have I I was wrong I don't do that anymore number five support your arm at Heart level place your arm in a table or armrest where your upper arm is at Heart level number six use the correct cuff size the bladder on your cuff should wrap around 3/4 of your upper arm circumference number seven place the cuff properly wrap the cuff snugly around the arm not too tight not loose one inch or

15:29 2.5 cm above the crease in the elbow the artery marker if present should align with the braal artery that's going to be right about here number eight remain still silent avoid talking moving fidgeting during measurement for some of us that's kind of hard number nine take multiple readings take at least two readings one minute apart and average them if readings differ by more than 5 mm of mercury take more readings to get it into the average number 10 measure both of your arms measure your blood pressure in one arm and then use the other arm take the

16:16 higher reading as the reference arm for future checks after the measurement number 11 record your readings don't try to remember there's just too many of them record the readings and what else did we say record the time of day of that reading if monitoring blood pressure at home take readings at the same time each day or at least make sure that you record the time that you're reading it number 12 consult with a professional if readings are consistently 140 over 90 or higher or 130 over 80 in people with diabetes and remember even if you think you don't have diabetes or pre-diabetes

17:02 most of us that think that actually do have it so really focus a little bit more on the 130 over 80 and if you have 130 over 80 multiple times see a healthc care professional but there's another reason your blood pressure might be high and we haven't covered it yet it's called white coat hypertension now many people will say oh no that's just not true it doesn't exist well it does exist but it's not that simple first of all what is it it's when you get blood pressure readings that are higher when you're in a clinical setting and it's due to anxiety having the doctor and the nurse around having your blood pressure

17:48 checked it's often used to explain away elevated numbers oh I got white coat high blood pressure hypertension so that means I'm really okay H think a couple of times before you believe it because the condition is real it's often overdiagnosed and on a practical basis here's the rest of the story research has shown evidence is clear that most individuals with white coat hypertension also experienced elevated blood pressure outside of the doctor's office indicating an underlying problem and guess what it's usually a problem associated with anxiety so monitoring the blood pressure at home provides a clearer picture and often reveals trends that

18:33 confirm genuine high blood pressure real high blood pressure rather than an isolated Spike due to the anxiety at the doctor's office in other words if you think the only place that you have anxiety is in the doctor's office you should probably think again the bottom line is that high blood pressure should be taken seriously regardless of whether it's attributed to anxiety from white coats or anxiety from something else or having a little bit too many pounds of fat around your middle or whatever reason take it seriously and don't look for excuses just take the blood pressure correctly and then you'll have a good diagnosis and then do the right thing

19:18 let's talk about the underlying cause of this problem and we have to think about metabolic disease it's one of the most underappreciated causes of high blood pressure in fact the major cause of it undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes or poor metabolic Health now if you're saying that's not me okay are you remembering that only 10% of us are metabolically healthy but there's another way of looking at why here's the biological reasons the connection lies in connection with chronic high blood pressure and insulin levels these things can cause our kidney to retain fluid it also causes widespread inflammation of

20:04 the arteries and damage to those blood vessel walls advanced glycation in products happen and yes AG G advanced glycation in products but it's not growing old here's the most common AG it's where glucose has bound to a protein and I bet you you've heard of the one if you're thinking this sounds technical the most common AG advanced glycation product is hemoglobin A1c you see what happens is glucose binds to proteins now why are we bringing up ages because ages proteins like hemoglobin that have glucose bound to them they're a product of prolonged high blood sugar levels and these ages contribute to the

20:50 stiffening of arteries damage of pressur related centers in the kidneys they cause us to retain fluid and here's the thing your blood pressure starts to go up that causes more damage to the artery walls which makes your blood pressure go up further which often makes the metabolic disease worse does that sound like a vicious spiral it is and the problem is most people don't understand that vicious spiral they don't check for it and here's another thing to think about by far the most common sign first sign where people should be thinking I might have metabolic disease of course if you start gaining weight but also if you discover

21:36 you've got high blood pressure those are two of the most common first symptoms of metabolic disease as we've said pre-diabetes usually goes undiagnosed not often it usually is undiagnosed and it allows these harmful processes this vicious spiral to wreck your metabolism wreck the tissues and result long-term in heart attack stroke blindness kidney disease arterial plaque if you're a male erectile dysfunction all these bad things now addressing metabolic Health through Lifestyle Changes such as weight loss improved diet increased physical activity all these things can reverse pre-diabetes and dramatically reduce

22:21 your blood pressure so if you'd like to know how to diagnose metabolic disease that's important obviously ly just take a look in this video right here