You need to get one with a real arm cuff. Costco sells a good one by Omron for about $50. It uses a type of fuzzy logic to filter out inaccurate highs and lows. The wrist/finger ones are very inconsistent.

Alternatively, they have pretty good ones next to most supermarket pharmacies. But they are inconvenient for regular testing.

It's also important to take your BP during different times of the day to get the big picture. BP tends to rise quickly in the morning/early afternoon, and then slowly decline into the evening. That's why most strokes/heart attacks happen in the morning.

what do you mean?
what exactly would the symptoms be, and what would they be of?

Example: Take a hypertensive with an average resting BP of 170/100. If you drop their BP to 90/60, it would likely make them feel weak, faint, or dizzy.

For someone whose normal resting pressure is 90/60, its great. :)

Works the other way too. A hypertensive can feel fine at very high pressures, but if you suddenly went up to 170/100 you'd likely feel queasy or get a headache.

One measurement high blood pressure does not make and also those wrist cuff measurements are useless..

Lifestyle factors will only help 10-15% with regards to blood pressure, and as you say you're lifestyle is mostly good it's not your best bet.

So assuming your blood pressure stays up, on two occassions measured with a proper cuff then this leaves the medications.

Diuretics, B-blockers, ACE-inhibitors are mostly excellent and low side effect profiles.. I don't know why so many people are resistant to taking them, but they are... I guess it's a hassle and high blood pressure is symptom free so they don't see the point.

I debated whether to tell this story for obvious reasons, but it is amusing.

When I was getting my paramedic cert, I observed a cardiologist doing a cardiac catheterization. The patient walked, waddled really, into the room and flopped onto the table. He was in his late 50's, had the bright red face of a heavy drinker, was about 100lbs overweight, and the stench of tobacco he brought in with him permeated the lab long after he left. His supine blood pressure, after resting on the table for almost 10 minutes, was 200/115.

The doc said he had the largest, cleanest, most supple coronary arteries he'd ever seen in a patient over 55.

excersize

I have been fighting borderline high BP for about a year. Losing weight (even a little fat can raise BP for some), quiting daily cigar smoking and regular jogging has helped the most. Strenuous weight lifting can actually raise BP. After a lot of research, I also take these suppliments. Bold = probably most effective.

CoQ10
Hawthorne Berry
Magnesium
Potassium
Cayenne
Fish Oil
Garlic
Grapeseed Extract (promotes vein elasticity)

I'm probably forgetting some. There are products that contain a lot of the above in one capsule - except the CoQ10. One is called "Blood Pressure Factors" by Michaels.

1st thing in 1st u must see a doc!

BP is really important thing for ur healt. dont take it easy. i am 34 and having that problem more than 6 years. :mad: salt, alcohol and smoking are main triggers. stop these or lower. u r young now ur body can stand hyper BP right now but ur brain, heart, eyes,kidney and some other parts of ur body are injuring slowly and you can face problems in your older ages. after u have pills and have a good diet u will see ur BP will go normal BUT never tought u recover it. unfortunately you cant get rid off this disase for all ur life. one time mesuring cannot show u have or not hyper BP. u must take at least 3 times a day for a week and write down all values and take it to ur doc. (do 1st measuring when u wake up, lying in ur bed) dont measure right after eating,sex,exercises etc. wait at least 5 mins before measuring, sit down and stay calmly and measure.

tip: if u fell dizzy and see BP over than 140/90 in day time u can eat some garlics or u can drink lemonade juice; these fell u better and lower ur BP immediately.:)

I'm not opposed to the beta blocker, the side effects are minimal now what I am opposed of is that I spend close to 500$ per month on med's...

Paxil (me and my wife)
Gabbitril (my wife)
Prevacid (this is the real expensive one)
Norvasc
Claranex (im trying to eleminate this)

I never had allergies till I moved to austin...

One of the first things I plan on doing with my company once it starts to break even is to get on a fucking health plan.

It's all the mesquite. I swear anytime I'm in the state of Texas for more than 30 minutes, my sinuses go off the wall.

For a period of three months last year, I tried all three major BP meds. Beta Blockers were the worst. It slows the force of your heart by blocking adrenaline. Exercise is tough because you become slow and lethargic. The libido also takes a big dive. Another worry is that you can experience a "racing" heart when the pill wears off. You actually can't stop Beta Blockers cold because of the heart attack risk! You have to gradually step-down. BBs didn't lower my BP much and made a huge lifestyle impact.

Diuretics are cheap and work by purging water (and sodium) from your system and lowering hydrolic pressures - BP. They also really dry you out and make shitting a really fun experience. Diuretics worked a little on my BP.

ACE Inhibitors worked the best for me. Some people with a genetic tendency toward hypertension produce too much of a vessel constrictiing protein (Angiotensinogen Type I). ACEs convert this protein to a non-constricting form. The day after I took the first pill, my BP was down like 10-15 on both measurements.