I spend a significant portion of my clinic day correcting how patients measure their blood pressure. And I don't say that to criticize — most people have never been taught the right way. But here's the problem: if you measure incorrectly, you get meaningless numbers. And you can't manage what you can't measure.

Today I'm going to teach you exactly how to measure your blood pressure so that you, your doctor, and I are looking at reliable data. This matters more than you think.

Myth #1: You Should Check Your BP Every Day

Reality: You should measure it no more than once per week.

Here's why: Blood pressure is not a static number. It changes constantly — every second, every minute. It's influenced by time of day, what you ate, exercise, stress, anxiety, even room temperature.

Checking every day creates noise — lots of different numbers that don't tell you anything useful. What matters is the trend over time, not day-to-day variation. One high reading means nothing.

Check once per week. That's it. Pick a day (say, Saturday morning) and that's your day.

Myth #2: One Blood Pressure Reading Tells You Your Status

Reality: You need 3 readings taken over 5 minutes, and you write down the LOWEST systolic number.

Blood pressure naturally drifts down as you sit quietly. The lowest reading during your quiet sitting session represents your actual resting blood pressure. The first reading is often inflated just from the act of measuring.

The Bottom Line

Track your BP over at least 12 weeks (one reading per week = 12 data points). Average those lowest systolic numbers. That average is your true baseline BP. Discuss the trend with your doctor — not panic over one number.

This is how we catch problems early and make smart treatment decisions. This is how we add healthy years to your life.