Add To PHR A home blood pressure test allows you to keep track
of your blood pressure at home. Blood pressure is a measure of
the force of blood inside an artery. A blood pressure
measurement is taken by temporarily stopping the flow of blood
in an artery (usually by inflating a cuff around the upper arm)
and then listening for the sound of the blood beginning to flow
through the artery again as air is released from the cuff. As
blood flows through the artery, it can be heard through a
stethoscope placed on the skin over the artery. Blood pressure
is recorded as two measurements. These two pressures are
expressed in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) because the original
devices that measured blood pressure used a column of mercury.
Blood pressure measurements are recorded as systolic/diastolic
(say "systolic over diastolic"). For example, if your systolic
pressure is 120 mm Hg and your diastolic pressure is 80 mm Hg,
your blood pressure is recorded as 120/80 (say "120 over 80").
The general types of blood pressu