I had my blood pressure tested at the doctor’s office this morning. While my numbers were elevated, I wasn’t upset to hear that they were a bit on the high side. Why didn’t I worry? Quite simply, I’ve been doing my homework. Knowing that I was due for a checkup, I used my USB blood pressure monitor regularly this week. I knew my blood pressure was in the 125 over 75 range, night after night …

So when the nurse told me this morning that my blood pressure tested at 140 over 90, I was comfortable that it wasn’t an accurate reading. The nurse responded with a kind nod when I explained that I had been checking my numbers regularly.

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“You know it,” I replied, with an apologetic smile. “Please don’t take it personally. My blood pressure always tests high when I’m in the doctor’s office.”

“Don’t worry,” she told me. “Your blood pressure will most likely be lower when the doctor comes in and takes it again.”

“Yup,” I said. “It’s always lower on the second check, once I’ve settled down a bit.”

Sure enough, today’s second blood pressure test proved to be lower. Stress has a whole lot of bearing on those numbers.

I have my blood pressure monitor set so that it automatically takes three readings in succession, to provide an average of the results. All I need to do is pull on the cuff, seal the Velcro, and press the on button. The readings are automatically stored in the unit.

Now if I could just figure out where I put that USB cable, so I can bring the data into my PC and have the software plot my charts …

(Note to self: searching for the right USB cable can lead to elevated blood pressure.)

Related: PC Blood Pressure Monitor