Today marks WEEK THREE of our Heart@Home campaign!
We received a lot of positive feedback on last week’s challenge which was to track your weight using the 'Daily Vitals' tool. One of the most common questions that we received was whether you could use the 'Daily Vitals' tool to track other vitals for Heart Failure, which is exactly what our third Heart@Home Goal is focused on!
As a reminder, your "vitals" are measurements of how your body functions. Your vitals can help both you and your doctor better understand your health status and if there are any current issues or potential future problems.
For this week's Heart@Home goal, we would like for you to track your blood pressure which is especially important to measure if you have Heart Failure because it can reveal a lot about your heart health. If you don't have a blood pressure machine at home, don't worry, as your local pharmacy likely has a free machine for public use.
Heart @ Home goal #3
track your blood pressure everyday for 1 week.
Steps:
Log into Heart Failure Health Storylines
Click the ‘Daily Vitals’ box, ‘Add Vital’ and choose Blood Pressure
Measure and enter your blood pressure every day for 1 week
Blood pressure is usually written down as a measurement with two numbers divided by a line, usually looking something like this: 120/80 mm Hg, where:
The top number, 120, is your systolic pressure. This refers to the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart muscle contracts.
The bottom number, 80, is your diastolic pressure. This refers to the blood pressure in between heart beats.
The unit of blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (hence the abbreviation "mm Hg").
It is important to ask your doctor what your ideal blood pressure number or goal is because everyone is different. If your blood pressure is too high, it may mean that your heart is working too hard to pump blood around to the rest of your body. Here is a helpful chart that outlines the different blood pressure categories:
Here is a list of vitals that are important to track if you have Heart Failure:
Blood Pressure
Ejection Fraction
Heart Rate
Cholesterol
Blood Sugar
Cholesterol
BMI
Weight
Get started today by using the Heart Failure Storylines app to manage your Heart Health.
Take care,
The Heart Failure Storylines Team
*Note it is important to seek help immediately and tell your doctor if you experience any alarming symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, profuse sweating, or a sudden change in weight (+/- 2 pounds in a day).*