New Blood Pressure Guidelines, Part 2

What does being pro-active in your own healthcare mean? Not only go see your doctor, but work closely with him or her - ask questions about things you don't understand; make sure that your doctor understands how you live your life so that any recommendations that you are given will work for you.

Educate yourself - if you are diagnosed with prehypertension, learn about lifestyle changes you can make that will have a positive impact on your health. And last but not least, be accountable to yourself. Once you understand what the numbers mean and what you need to do about them, it's a good idea to keep track of your blood pressure. Knowing what it is on a consistent basis will help you see if what you're doing is bringing your blood pressure down.

There are a few ways to keep tabs on your blood pressure. Home blood pressure devices have advanced enough in technology so that you can check your blood pressure by yourself relatively easily in a matter of minutes. A wide variety of home blood pressure monitors exist including automatic, manual, pediatric, and specialty monitors. The specialty blood pressure monitors have 'extra' features including printed readings, ability to track readings in a memory bank, irregular heartbeat function, multi-users, and more.

Consider prehypertension as a wake-up call - if you find out you are prehypertensive, this is your opportunity to start participating in your life in ways that may help you feel better. Being pro-active in your own healthcare is one thing you can do to keep quality in your life as well as help you live longer.

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