Blood pressure medication

In the most general terms, a blood pressure reading under 120/80 mgHg is considered healthy, but the definition of high blood pressure (hypertension) depends upon your age and other health conditions you may have. If you have high blood pressure, your primary care provider will work with you to decide what a healthy blood pressure goal looks like for you, taking your overall well-being into consideration.

High blood pressure is caused by a complex mix of genetic and lifestyle factors. Sometimes it’s caused by an underlying medical condition, such as a hormone or kidney disorder, but for most people it seems to develop on its own. Risk factors for high blood pressure include older age, smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol intake, inactivity, a high-salt diet, diabetes, high cholesterol, family history of high blood pressure, and Black race.

You can purchase an automatic blood pressure monitor at your local pharmacy or an online retailer for around $40-100. More expensive devices often include additional features that you might find useful, but a lower-cost device can still take accurate readings. Keep in mind that an arm cuff is going to be more accurate than a wrist cuff. The cuff should fit your arm snuggly but not too tightly. You should be able to fit two fingers between your arm and the cuff before it’s inflated.

Before measuring your blood pressure, take a seat in a place where your back is straight and supported, with your feet flat on the floor and your legs uncrossed. Using pillows or a table, rest your arm at about the height of your heart with your palm facing upwards. Place the blood pressure cuff on your bare upper arm. Relax in this position for about 5 minutes without talking. This is a great opportunity for 5 minutes of focus on some deep, relaxed breathing without distractions. After resting for 5 minutes, take your first blood pressure reading. Wait 1 minute and then take a second reading. Discard the first reading and record the second.

You should measure your blood pressure at different times of day, because it can and will vary hour to hour. You may find that it’s a bit higher first thing in the morning and lower at night or shortly after exercise; this kind of variation is normal. At Amazon One Medical, we recommend checking once in the morning and once in the evening.

If you’re following up on a high reading from your provider’s office, then checking twice a day - morning and night - for about a week should give you a good sense of where your blood pressure range really lies. This is also a good approach if you’re monitoring a change in blood pressure medications. Otherwise, just the occasional reading is more than sufficient. Amazon One Medical members can share these home blood pressure readings directly with their primary care provider using the One Medical app.

The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is a plan specifically designed to help manage high blood pressure. It emphasizes the importance of eating a variety of nutrient-rich foods that are beneficial for heart health. The DASH diet is quite similar to the Mediterranean diet and is a plant-focused diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts, with low-fat and non-fat dairy, lean meats like fish and poultry, mostly whole grains, and heart-healthy fats. You can read more about a healthy diet for high blood pressure on the One Medical blog.

A primary care provider can determine if you need prescription medication to treat high blood pressure. If your care plan includes a prescription, you'll be asked to select a pharmacy. You can send it to your preferred pharmacy or select Amazon Pharmacy to get your medications delivered right to your door.