Friday Health & Wellness

Don’t Guess Your Blood Pressure — Know It

Today on the phones, I told one of Dr. Patel’s patients something simple.

If you want an accurate blood pressure reading and you don’t have a cuff at home… go to your local fire station.

Yes. The fire station.

Most of them will happily check it for you. No appointment. No drama. They’ll often give you a small card so you can track your numbers over time.

And here’s why that matters.

Blood pressure isn’t something you “feel” most of the time.

You can:

• Be working

• Be grocery shopping

• Be laughing

• Be living life

And still have numbers creeping up quietly.

High blood pressure is called the silent condition for a reason.

Those machines at the grocery store? They can be off.

Home cuffs? They’re helpful — if used correctly and calibrated.

But firefighters? They’re trained. They do this every day.

And there’s something else I love about this…

It connects you back to your community.

You walk in.

You say, “Can you check my blood pressure?”

They smile and say, “Of course.”

It’s simple. It’s human. It’s proactive.

You don’t have to wait until you feel bad.

Health & wellness is about awareness.

Paying attention.

Tracking patterns.

If your numbers are consistently high — then you take that information to your provider.

That’s empowerment.

Not fear.

Not guessing.

Knowing.

And sometimes knowing starts at the fire station down the street.

If you go:

• Sit quietly for 5 minutes first

• Keep your feet flat on the floor

• Don’t talk during the reading

• Ask what the numbers mean

If you have a home blood pressure monitor, take it with you to the fire station and ask them to compare readings.

They can check your pressure using their equipment and see if your device is reading accurately. Make sure you’re using the correct cuff size for your arm, and ask them to show you proper placement.

A machine that isn’t calibrated correctly — or a cuff that’s too small — can give you numbers that are higher than they really are.

Accuracy matters.

Small details matter.

— Lady Flava 🌻