My brother David gave me a blood-pressure monitor that he hasn't used in a long time, and tonight, I tried it for the first time. The cuff on the unit was way too small for my meaty upper arm, and I ended up running the machine three times, with the BP readings becoming lower with each successive hit of the "start" button. My best reading was 124/84, which puts me only a little bit above normal. Since I'm on BP meds, this reading isn't exactly cause for self-congratulation, but I have been good about walking up my building's staircase, and I'd like to think that the effort is contributing at least something to my BP. Assuming the reading is accurate, of course, which it probably isn't, although my doc's readings aren't too far different.
I do a reading after my meds in the morning and another before bed (you might say after my evening liquid meds). Usually several points lower at night. But honestly, given where I started being in the low 120s is satisfying.
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Thanks, John. Since my first scary visit to the doc a couple years ago, and that first off-the-scale bad BP reading (over 200 systolic! it's a wonder I hadn't exploded), I tend to hover between classic 120/80 and about 135/90—just over and just under the fence of hypertension.
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