Blood pressure is not a fixed number. Activity, anxiety, pain, caffeine, smoking, a full bladder, poor sleep and some medicines can temporarily raise it; dehydration, standing suddenly and other medicines may lower it. An unsuitable cuff, measuring immediately after walking or talking during the reading can also produce misleading results.
For home monitoring, sit quietly for several minutes, support the arm, use the correct cuff and take two readings at consistent times. Do not take extra medicine because of one high result or stop treatment because of one low result. A clinician can interpret symptoms, the recorded pattern, medicine timing and any necessary investigations.
TCM may support stress, sleep or dizziness, but pulse assessment should not determine changes to antihypertensive medicine. Fainting, chest pain, neurological symptoms, a persistent severe headache, or an extreme reading with significant symptoms requires prompt medical care.
If dizziness occurs on standing, record blood pressure and pulse before and after standing, symptom timing, recent fluid intake, fever and medicine changes. This information may help identify postural hypotension rather than attributing every fluctuation to emotion.
