A question from girl_brunette_brown_eyes: Why is my first blood pressure reading the highest ?
I take my blood pressure at home daily and I noticed that my first reading is always the highest.I sometimes will take my blood pressure for around half an hour off and on and it most often is approximately 25 to 30 points lower by the end of this half hour. Which reading would be my correct reading…the first one or one of the later ones? Sometimes it gets lower as early as the second or third reading too. I have tested this machine out on family members and it is working fine. Thanks !
Best answer:
Answer by rock
blood pressure is a very complicated thing. its value will vary depending on your status. for example, if you were standing or running or exercising just before you take you blood pressure, then it will be much higher than the normal value.
usually to get a relatively accurate reading, you should sit yourself down for at least 5 minutes before checking you blood pressure.
also be aware that in general a person’s blood pressure is highest around 8am
blood pressure also varies with your mood, if you anxious or scared, or worried then it will be increased.
all these different things will cause blood pressure to change. so any of these reasons could be the result of you drop in blood pressure every time you take it. next time try taking it after 5 minutes of sitting in the afternoon and see if it still fluctuates as wildly.
Agree or disagree? Leave your own thoughts below.
This phenomenon is known as the White Coat Syndrome as it commonly occurs in a doctor’s office when he checks your BP. People tend to be a bit tense in a doctor’s office and that gives a higher BP reading than when you are relaxed.
At home the same can happen because it takes a while to set up the BP monitor and when you take your first reading you are probably not as relaxed and rested as later on due to the effort or activity involved in setting up the monitor. When you relax a bit more your BP goes down.
The later readings would be the more reliable ones.