Data show that there are about 300 million hypertensive patients in China, but the awareness rate of hypertension is only 42.6%. This means that more than half of the people do not know that they have high blood pressure. On the one hand, because the early symptoms of hypertension are not obvious, most patients often do not feel this silent and invisible killer, and more importantly, because these people do not regularly measure their blood pressure. Blood pressure monitoring at home is convenient and hassle-free, and can detect elevated blood pressure in a timely manner so that patients can be treated as early as possible. For hypertensive patients, blood pressure management is mainly outside the hospital, and accurate blood pressure measurement at home is the most important part of blood pressure management. Do you know how to measure blood pressure correctly? First of all, let’s recognize the two kinds of sphygmomanometers commonly used nowadays: 1. Mercury column sphygmomanometer, which is the earliest and oldest sphygmomanometer in application. As long as the sphygmomanometer quality intact, standardized operation, measured blood pressure accuracy is good, the disadvantage is that the measurement of the person needs a certain knowledge of the measurement can be used correctly, and mercury has led to the environmental environment, has gradually been replaced by electronic sphygmomanometers. 2. electronic automatic sphygmomanometer. It mainly includes upper arm type, wrist type and finger type. However, at present, the upper arm type is mainly used. It is more accurate. Compared with the mercury column sphygmomanometer, its operation is convenient, especially the patient himself can measure his own blood pressure. The disadvantage is that when the patient has an arrhythmia, there is an error in the measurement or it cannot be measured effectively. Preparation for measurement: You should rest for 5-10 minutes before measuring blood pressure because activity, talking, and emotional stress can affect the measured blood pressure value. Blood pressure should not be measured immediately after a meal or exercise, but should be rested for at least 15-30 minutes. There is urine must be emptied. If you have a bowel movement, you should rest for a few moments after emptying your bowels before measuring your blood pressure. Do not drink coffee, alcohol, tobacco or strong tea for 30 minutes before measuring blood pressure. The patient should be seated during blood pressure measurement. Sit upright, with a comfortable seat, and keep your legs together. The upper arm is placed flat on the table at the same level as the heart. The right upper arm should be bare, or only the sleeve of the undershirt should be left on, but it must be flat. The patient’s mind should be calm during the measurement, not looking around, not talking to anyone, not fixing his eyes on the mercury column of the sphygmomanometer. The whistle is steady. Measuring blood pressure at home by yourself gives a value that represents the true level of blood pressure. Because when you measure your blood pressure at home, you are not nervous at all and your mind is calm. It is exactly the same as one’s usual state. Measuring blood pressure in the hospital outpatient clinic, especially the first outpatient clinic, the doctor is relatively rusty, the patient’s mentality is more or less a little nervous, and is not the same as the usual at home. Therefore, the blood pressure measured at this time will be higher. Suggestion: Measure 2-3 times a day in the morning and in the evening. For first-time patients, patients in the early stage of treatment or patients whose blood pressure has not yet reached the standard or is unstable after treatment, measurements should be taken for 5-7 consecutive days before the consultation; when the blood pressure is under good control, measurements can be taken 1 day a week. Immediately after each measurement, the results should be accurately recorded in a standardized record book, so that the doctor can adjust the treatment plan according to the blood pressure level during the consultation.