How to Check Your Blood Pressure at Home

Home blood pressure readings are often more reliable than a single reading at the doctor's office — if you use the right device and the right technique. Small mistakes, like a cuff that is too small or a crossed leg, can add 5 to 15 mmHg.

Choose the right monitor

• Upper-arm, automatic: the recommended type. Wrist and finger devices are less accurate.
• Validated: check that the model is clinically validated — in the US, look it up on the validated device listing (validatebp.org).
• Right cuff size: measure your upper-arm circumference midway between shoulder and elbow and choose the matching cuff. A cuff that is too small reads too high.

7 steps to an accurate reading

1. Prepare: no caffeine, exercise or smoking for 30 minutes. Empty your bladder.
2. Sit correctly: back supported, feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed.
3. Rest: sit quietly for 5 minutes before the first reading.
4. Arm position: arm resting on a table, cuff at heart level.
5. Cuff on bare skin, about an inch above the elbow crease — not over clothing.
6. Don't talk or look at your phone during the measurement.
7. Take two readings one minute apart and write both down.

When and how often

To get a reliable picture, measure every morning (before medication and breakfast) and every evening for 7 days, two readings each time. Discard the first day and average the rest. After that, a few days a month is usually enough unless your doctor advises otherwise.

Common mistakes

• Measuring right after climbing stairs, eating or drinking coffee
• Unsupported arm hanging down (reads higher) or held above heart level (reads lower)
• Measuring over a sleeve or rolled-up sleeve that squeezes the arm
• Taking only one reading, or only when you feel unwell

Which arm?

At the first measurement, check both arms. Use the arm with the higher reading from then on. A difference of more than 10–15 mmHg between arms is worth mentioning to your doctor.

Got a number? Enter it in the checker. For how doctors confirm a diagnosis see How High Blood Pressure Is Diagnosed.