Blood Pressure and Readings Log

Who this is for

A place to write down readings you have been asked to take at home. Each line holds the date and time, the reading exactly as the device showed it, which arm or position you used, who took it and a note — and nothing else, because this sheet records readings and does not interpret them.

Anyone asked to take readings at home and bring them in, people keeping a week of figures before a review, and carers taking readings for somebody else who want the record to be legible and dated when it is handed over.

What this helps you track

• Every reading as the device showed it, with the date and time it was taken
• Which arm, cuff or position was used, and on which device
• Who took the reading, so a question can be put to a person
• The figure your own clinician asked you to watch for, written at the top in their words
• Which readings have already been shown at an appointment

How to use it

1. Write your details, your device and — in the box at the top — the figure your own doctor, nurse or pharmacist asked you to watch for, in their words.
2. Take the reading the way you were shown, at the times you were asked to take it.
3. Copy the reading exactly as it appears on the device, without rounding it or choosing between two goes.
4. Note the arm, cuff or position and the device used, because a change in any of them is worth knowing about later.
5. Tick the shown column once a reading has been seen at an appointment.
6. Take the whole log with you rather than a summary, and let the person reading it decide what it means.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What is a normal reading?

This sheet does not say, and deliberately carries no range, target or threshold. The only figure on it is the one you were given by your own clinician, written in the box at the top in their words.

Does the sheet work out an average for me?

No. It counts how many readings you have taken and how many have been shown at an appointment, and nothing more. It does not average, flag or interpret any reading, because that is a clinical judgement and not ours to make.

Can I log something other than blood pressure?

Yes. The reading column is free text, so a figure from any home device you have been asked to use can go on the same sheet — put the device in the notes so each line is unambiguous.

What should I do if a reading looks unusual to me?

Write it down as it came out and raise it with your practice, pharmacy or whoever asked you to take the readings. The sheet has no opinion about any figure on it.

Should I leave out a reading I think was wrong?

Record it and say in the notes what happened — you had just come up the stairs, the cuff slipped, the device beeped. A log with the awkward lines left in is more use than a tidy one.