If you live with heart disease, it’s normal to want to know how your heart is doing all the time, not just during visits to your cardiologist. This is especially true if you're trying to make lifestyle changes and want to see if they’re working.

Fortunately, there are easy ways to track your heart health at home. Talk to your doctor about which options are best for you. It just might give you the peace of mind you’ve been looking for.

1. Take Your Blood Pressure Regularly

Blood pressure measures the force used to pump blood through your body. When your blood pressure is high, it’s called hypertension. Hypertension can lead to several different medical problems, including heart problems.

Your doctor will check your blood pressure at appointments, but you can monitor it on your own, too. Buy an automatic monitor with a cuff that goes on your upper arm, and make sure it has been approved to be used by someone of your age and sex. Talk to your doctor about how to use it correctly. Using it incorrectly could lead to unnecessary worry.

To get the most accurate results while taking your blood pressure, follow these guidelines:

• Take your blood pressure at the same time or times every day, as recommended by your cardiologist.
• Don’t smoke, exercise, or drink caffeine for 30 minutes beforehand.
• Put the cuff directly on your skin, sit still and straight, and follow the directions that come with the monitor.
• Take two readings, one minute apart.
• If your monitor doesn’t upload the data to the web automatically, write down your readings to keep track.

Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). If the top number is between 120 and 129 mm Hg, your blood pressure is slightly elevated. If your numbers are 130 to 139 mm Hg over 80 to 89 mm Hg, it means you have stage I high blood pressure. Stage II high blood pressure is 140 mm Hg or higher over 90 mm Hg or higher. If your blood pressure reaches 180 mm Hg or higher or the bottom number is 120 mm Hg or higher, you may need to get medical help immediately.

2. Track Your Heart Rate

Another way to track your heart health at home is to monitor your heart rate, or how fast your heart is beating. You can check it manually or use a device. While you’re resting, your heart should beat about 60 to 100 times every minute. This can vary, so it’s helpful to figure out what is normal for your resting heart rate.

To manually check your heart rate:

• Place the tips of your index finger and your middle finger on your neck under your jaw or on your wrist below the base of your thumb.
• Using a timer, count the beats you feel in 15 seconds. Then multiply that by four to get your heart rate.
• For more accuracy, do this three times and calculate an average.

Wearable devices like fitness trackers or smartwatches can also track your heart rate, as can smartphone apps that detect your pulse through your finger. You can also use a pulse oximeter. While oximeters are designed to track how much oxygen is in your blood, most also estimate your heart rate. However, they’re not accurate for monitoring heart rate during intense exercise.

Talk to your doctor about tracking your heart rate so you know what to look out for based on your health needs.

3. Wear Heart Technology on Your Wrist

There are many wearable devices that monitor aspects of your heart health. The most common of these are fitness trackers and smartwatches. These devices offer a variety of tests, though not all have the same features. You and your doctor can decide which numbers are most important for you to monitor, then choose a device that tracks those.

Some of the more common tests offered include:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG) — Monitors heart rate and rhythm
• Bioimpedance — Tracks blood pressure and some signs of heart failure
• Photoplethysmography — Monitors blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm, and VO2 max

In addition to monitoring your heart in real-time, these devices usually track your numbers over time as well. This allows you and your cardiology team to spot trends or review your data during checkups. Some devices can even be set up to alert you if there’s a problem or if your numbers go outside certain ranges. Your doctor can tell you what to look for and how to understand the numbers you see on your device.

4. Monitor Important Lifestyle Factors

There are several lifestyle factors that are key to heart health. These can include what you eat, how much you exercise, and how much you sleep. Tracking these can help you stay on top of your heart health.

A good wearable device can help you track these areas. There are also apps available for your computer or smartphone that can help. If you prefer, you can track things by hand, using a notebook. Write down what you eat, how often, what you do for exercise, and what time you go to bed and wake up.

For heart health, you should aim to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, with some low-fat meat and legumes, too. You can make a lot of good meals with these ingredients! Try to get 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week and 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

5. Look out for Symptoms

Knowing what symptoms to look for can help you decide if you need to call a doctor or get emergency medical help for your heart. Dangerous symptoms include:

• An uncomfortable feeling in your chest, such as squeezing, burning, or chest pain
• Unexplained nausea
• Sweating for no reason
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• Pain or discomfort in your upper body that you can’t explain

In addition, you should get help if your heart rate is suddenly significantly below or above your normal pulse or if you feel an extra beat or like it’s skipping beats. Remember, blood pressure at or over 180/120 mm Hg also means an emergency.

In general, if you notice something different or unusual about your heart, call your doctor’s office. They can guide you on what to do next. If you need to be seen or you need urgent medical help, they can advise you on that, too.

6. Check Your Weight

Monitoring your weight can help you track your heart health in a couple of ways. If you’re looking to lose weight through healthy lifestyle changes, tracking your weight can help you monitor your progress.

Weight changes can also be a sign that you are retaining fluids, which can be a sign that your heart isn’t working well. If you gain 2 to 3 pounds in a day or 5 pounds in a week, talk to your doctor about your heart health. You should also reach out to your doctor if you lose a lot of weight quickly or for no reason.

7. Talk to Your Doctor

If you’re concerned about your heart health and want to monitor it at home, discuss your options with your health care provider during your next visit. They can recommend the most suitable methods for your situation. They can also give you any training you might need to make sure you know how to monitor your health and when to seek help.

Find Your Team

On MyHeartDiseaseTeam, the social network for people with heart disease and their loved ones, more than 61,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with heart disease.

How do you monitor your heart health at home? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.