Blood pressure

Mine was 200 for a while without realising. I started taking medication and saw a nutritionist now it's down to below 120 consistently. Key learnings was to cut down alcohol, salt and caffeine significantly. I would be on my 3rd coffee by about 10am now I switched to herbal teas.

When taking your blood pressure, relax for about ten minutes beforehand, and do not drink, eat or smoke during this period. In fact a half hour is probably better, especially the smoking.

The reading tend to be higher in the morning and lower in the evening which is why they recommend two readings a day.

When I had my TIA (15 years ago) my BP went up to 240 and was regarded as exceptionally high. It has occasionally gone up to 160 temporarily which doesn't worry the medics so long as it comes back down fairly soon afterwards.

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Somebody mentioned the pharmacy getting paid for taking BP readings. Whoever takes it gets paid, your GP does too.

@Primrose53 GPs do not get paid any extra for taking BP - what a daft idea! Where appropriate, taking BP readings is just part of their contracted services. Pharmacies may get an extra payment because it is over & above their contracted services and the hope is that they may "catch" people who would not have had it done at the GP.

I take my own BP on a regular basis, I don't get paid! Seriously keeping a check on your BP is one of the most sensible things anyone can do. High BP normally has no symptoms and can do lots of damage without us knowing.