Habit, mood and health logsFill in
Blood pressure log
A place to write down home blood pressure readings so you can bring them to appointments. It records numbers and notes only and does not say what any reading means. Choose a single-reading layout or a morning and evening layout.
- Type your details or print blank
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
What prints
The heading says Blood Pressure Log and has two lines, one for your name and one for the month. The table below depends on the layout you choose.
In the standard layout the columns are Date, Time, Sys, Dia, Pulse, Arm, and a wide column called Notes or medicine taken. Sys and Dia are the top and bottom numbers of a reading.
In the morning and evening layout each date has two groups side by side. A shaded band labeled Morning covers Time, Sys, Dia and Pulse, and a band labeled Evening covers the same four columns. A Notes column follows.
Under the table are two small lines. One describes how to prepare for a reading: rest 5 minutes first, seated with your back supported and feet flat, with the cuff on bare skin at heart level. The other says the log only records readings and that your doctor can tell you what your numbers mean. The American Heart Association page above covers the same measuring steps in more detail.
The settings
- Heading. Up to 40 characters; blank gives the standard heading.
- Log. Choose "Blood pressure" for this sheet.
- Morning and evening readings. A toggle. Off gives one row per reading with an Arm column. On gives the paired layout.
- Rows. From 10 to 31. A full month fits in 31 rows when you take one set of readings per day.
Writing entries
Write numbers exactly as the monitor shows them. If a reading looks odd, do not erase it; note the circumstance instead, such as "just climbed stairs" or "after coffee", in the Notes column. Context is often what a clinician wants to see next to the numbers.
Use the same arm and the same time of day if your care team asked you to. The Arm column in the standard layout is a quick way to write L or R. Use the notes column for any medicine you took and the time, if your doctor asked you to track that.
Worked example: one week, morning and evening
You switch on the morning and evening toggle and set rows to 10. The month line says November. On the 4th, the morning row reads 7:15 AM, with the three numbers your monitor displayed, and the evening row 8:30 PM with its three numbers. In Notes you write "took medicine at 7:30". On the 5th you write "skipped breakfast" next to the morning reading. By the end of the week seven dates are filled in and you can staple the page to your appointment folder.
You do not circle, highlight or total anything. The sheet leaves interpretation to your doctor.
Bringing it to a visit
Bring the printed sheet, or a photo of it, and the monitor if your clinician wants to check that it reads accurately. If a number worries you or you feel unwell, do not wait for the next appointment; contact your care team or emergency services. The CDC page above has general information on high blood pressure.
Related pages
The blood sugar log works the same way for glucose readings. The sleep log and workout log can sit in the same folder if your care team asks about them.