Benefits of routine blood pressure check early & bull; hello healthy

The prevalence of hypertension in Indonesia reaches more than 63 million. This should not be underestimated because hypertension (high blood pressure) can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, diabetes and stroke. Therefore, adults should routinely check blood pressure as a measure to maintain health.

The benefits of routine blood pressure checks from an early age

American Heart Association advise adults to check blood pressure using a blood pressure meter (home blood pressure monitor) digital. Here are the benefits of why this is recommended for adults.

Early detection of hypertension

Self-monitoring of blood pressure can help a doctor evaluate his health. This is very important for people with significant risk factors for hypertension. A person is more likely to develop hypertension if:

• Are over 65 years of age
• Excessive body weight
• Family history of hypertension
• Unhealthy eating patterns, such as high salt and rarely eat fruits and vegetables
• Unhealthy lifestyle (rarely exercise, smoking, consuming excessive alcohol or caffeine, often lack of rest)

By knowing your blood pressure outside the practice, your doctor can make a better treatment plan for your health.

Monitor treatments that are being carried out

Checking blood pressure is also part of the treatment plan that has been made. Your blood pressure number can be an indication of whether lifestyle changes are helping with blood pressure problems. Not only that, your doctor can also assess whether the medicines you are taking are working as expected. After that, the doctor can change the dose or change the prescribed medication if necessary.

Cost effective

Actively monitoring blood pressure using a digital blood pressure meter can also save money. Although not a substitute for regular health checks to the doctor, this easy thing to do can reduce the number of visits that need to be made to your doctor or clinic. These benefits have made the use of digital blood pressure meters begin to form part of the care guidelines for hypertension from various health associations.

Maintain health

Routine blood pressure checks at home can support someone to pay more attention to health. According to the Mayo Clinic, a person can be more responsible for what is consumed or other things that are good for their blood pressure. Seeing that blood pressure is in the normal range can make you diligent in exercising, eating healthy foods, and being disciplined in taking prescribed medications.

When you have hypertension, you should obey your doctor's instructions for taking the medicines your doctor prescribes. According to the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), a number of patients diagnosed with hypertension do not regularly take medication because they feel healthy. In fact, high blood pressure should not be underestimated because it is an entry point for dangerous diseases.

Helps eliminate possibilities white-coat and masked hypertension

The study entitled Home Blood Pressure Monitoring mentioning the use of a digital blood pressure meter helps to eliminate the possibility of these two occurrences. So, what is meant by these two things?

Both of these are simply the results of inaccurate blood pressure checks due to environmental factors. White-coat hypertension refers to blood pressure that rises when checked at a doctor's office. On the other hand, masked hypertension is normal blood pressure when checked by a team of doctors, but rises outside the doctor's office.

Therefore, someone who routinely checks blood pressure will be asked to record blood pressure at each independent check or when visiting a doctor. A result that shows signs of both of these will provide a reference for the doctor to create a specific treatment plan.

How to check blood pressure with a blood pressure meter

According to this study, the recommended digital blood pressure meters for at home are:

• Has received validation
• Digital blood pressure cuff-style alias resembles a cuff, which is circled on the upper arm
• Easy to use

Furthermore, you can use the meter by:

1. Calm down five minutes before measuring,
2. Please do not smoke, exercise, or drink caffeinated beverages 30 minutes prior to measuring
3. Emptying the bladder and bowels when needed
4. Avoid stress and discomfort immediately before taking a measurement
5. Please sit up straight in a chair that has a backrest, feet on the floor, arms supported on a flat surface and parallel to the heart
6. Install it cuff above the crook of the elbow and in contact with skin, not clothing
7. Start measuring according to how it was used and record the results.

Always take measurements at the same time every day, such as 9 am and 8 pm every day. In each tension measurement, take measurements two or three times with a span of one minute for each measurement. Don't forget to record every measurement result, OK.

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