A blood pressure log in Excel or Google Sheets needs one row per reading and six columns of data: date, time, systolic, diastolic, pulse and notes. Leave a missed reading blank rather than typing 0, average each number column with =AVERAGE(), or =AVERAGEIFS() when some rows are left out, and chart systolic and diastolic as two lines.
Two helper columns, AM/PM session and Y/N count, split mornings from evenings. The 2024 European Society of Cardiology guidelines tell patients to keep a record of their home readings, average them and present the results to their clinician. Their schedule of two readings a sitting, morning and evening, fills 28 rows over a full seven days, arithmetic a spreadsheet does for you.
Which columns should a blood pressure spreadsheet have?
A blood pressure spreadsheet needs one row per reading and six columns: date, time, systolic, diastolic, pulse and notes. Two helper columns then make the averages automatic: a session column that labels each row AM or PM, and a count column marked Y, so a reading can be left out of an average without being deleted. Headers go in row 1 and readings start in row 2.
| Date (A) | Time (B) | Systolic (C) | Diastolic (D) | Pulse (E) | Session (F) | Count (G) | Notes (H) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-14 | 07:10 | 128 | 82 | 66 | AM | Y | Before breakfast |
| 2026-09-14 | 07:12 | 124 | 80 | 64 | AM | Y | |
| 2026-09-14 | 19:40 | 131 | 84 | 71 | PM | Y | |
| 2026-09-14 | 19:42 | 127 | 81 | 69 | PM | Y | Left arm |
These readings are examples, not targets. Saved as a blank copy, the layout becomes a reusable blood pressure log template and tracker. Keep each number in its own cell: 128/82 in one cell is text, which Excel's AVERAGE function skips. Notes record anything that changes a reading's meaning, such as a different arm or cuff. ESC 2024 says devices older than four years may be inaccurate and suggests asking your healthcare provider to check the device now and then, so note the monitor's model and roughly when it was bought; see is my blood pressure monitor validated.
How do I set up a blood pressure log in Excel or Google Sheets?
Set up a blood pressure spreadsheet once, before the first reading: type the headers, add a formula that labels each row morning or evening, and keep one tab per monitoring week so every formula covers the same 28 rows, one week of two readings each morning and evening. After that, keyboard shortcuts enter each date and time as a fixed value.
- Open a blank sheet. Google Sheets and Excel for the web are both free with an account; Excel's web version saves files in OneDrive.
- Type the headers in A1 to H1: Date, Time, Systolic, Diastolic, Pulse, Session, Count, Notes.
- Label each session. In F2 type
=IF(B2="","",IF(HOUR(B2)<12,"AM","PM"))and copy it down to F29. HOUR returns a whole number from 0 to 23, so any time before noon becomes AM, and a row without a time stays blank; Google Sheets has it too. A bedtime reading taken after midnight will show AM; overtype that cell with PM. - Enter the date and time as fixed values. In Excel for Windows and in Google Sheets, Ctrl+; types the date and Ctrl+Shift+; types the time. Excel for Mac uses Ctrl+; for the date and Command+; for the time, Sheets on a Mac uses Command in place of Ctrl, and Google lists different keys for some countries. Avoid
=TODAY()and=NOW(), which recalculate. - Type Y in the count column for each reading. Each new week, copy the tab, clear the readings and keep the formulas.
How do I average blood pressure readings in Excel, including morning and evening?
In Excel or Google Sheets, use AVERAGE for all readings and AVERAGEIFS for a subset. Below the systolic column, =AVERAGE(C2:C29) averages every reading, while =AVERAGEIFS(C2:C29,$F$2:$F$29,"AM",$G$2:$G$29,"Y") averages only the counted morning rows; change "AM" to "PM" for evenings. AVERAGEIFS takes the same arguments in the same order in both apps, so each formula works in either.
| Cell | Average of | Formula (copy across to D and E) |
|---|---|---|
| C31 | Every reading entered | =AVERAGE(C2:C29) |
| C32 | Readings marked Y | =AVERAGEIFS(C2:C29,$G$2:$G$29,"Y") |
| C33 | Morning readings marked Y | =AVERAGEIFS(C2:C29,$F$2:$F$29,"AM",$G$2:$G$29,"Y") |
| C34 | Evening readings marked Y | =AVERAGEIFS(C2:C29,$F$2:$F$29,"PM",$G$2:$G$29,"Y") |
Dollar signs keep F and G fixed when copying across. With the four example rows, C31 shows 127.5, C33 shows 126 and C34 shows 129. Three traps:
- A zero counts. A missed reading typed as 0 counts as a real reading and drags the average down; see how to calculate your average blood pressure.
- No match is an error. Excel's AVERAGEIFS returns #DIV/0! when no row matches, such as before the first evening reading. Wrapping it as
=IFERROR(AVERAGEIFS(...),""), which works in both apps, shows a blank instead but also hides mistakes such as mismatched ranges, so add it only once the formula works. - Ranges must match. In Excel each range in AVERAGEIFS must be the same size and shape, so C2:C29 pairs with F2:F29, not F2:F30.
How do I leave a reading out of the average without deleting it?
In Excel or Google Sheets, add a count column, type Y beside each reading that belongs in the average and N beside any to leave out, then average with AVERAGEIFS and "Y" as the condition. The row stays in the log, and the result updates when a letter changes; a plain AVERAGE would still include it. Which readings to leave out depends on your clinician's schedule: NICE NG136 discards the first day, the 2024 ESC guidelines keep it.
| ESC 2024 | NICE NG136 | |
|---|---|---|
| Readings per sitting | 2, taken 1–2 minutes apart | 2, at least 1 minute apart, seated |
| Sittings per day | Morning and evening, same times | Twice, ideally morning and evening |
| Days | At least 3, up to 7 (all 7 if the 3-day average is near the threshold) | At least 4, ideally 7 |
| First day | Averaged with the rest | Discarded |
| Readings averaged over 7 days | 28 | 24 |
In the sheet above, C32 to C34 follow the letters; C31 still averages every reading. In pooled data from 2,122 people, first-day readings were about 2.8/1.4 mmHg higher than later days. Leaving day one out changed the diagnosis for 6% of people on a three-day schedule but made negligible difference on longer schedules.
How do I make a blood pressure chart in Excel or Google Sheets?
To chart blood pressure in Excel or Google Sheets, select the date column with its header, hold Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and add the systolic and diastolic columns. In Excel choose Insert > Recommended Charts and pick a line chart, then right-click the horizontal axis, choose Format Axis and set Axis Type to Text axis, so each row gets its own evenly spaced point. In Sheets choose Insert > Chart, then Setup > Chart type.
Excel turns a date column into a date axis, spaced by days, months or years rather than by row, which the Text axis setting undoes. Include every row of the week, even empty ones, so later readings appear. In Google Sheets, labels from the first column form the horizontal axis; if same-date points bunch together, select a typed label column such as 09-14 AM 1 first, instead of the date column.
How do I stop Excel or Google Sheets mixing up day and month?
Type every date as year-month-day, such as 2026-09-14, and format the date column to show it that way. Excel reads an entry like 2/2 using the computer's regional settings, and Google Sheets uses each file's locale, so 03/09 can mean 3 September on one computer and 9 March on another. The year-month-day layout has no such ambiguity.
- Excel: select column A, press Ctrl+1 (Command+1 on a Mac), choose Custom and type yyyy-mm-dd. Built-in date formats marked with an asterisk change with the system's regional settings; a custom code avoids that.
- Google Sheets: set the locale under File > Settings and click Save settings, then apply Format > Number > Custom date and time to column A.
Is a spreadsheet better than a paper log or an app?
We found no trial comparing spreadsheets, apps and paper logs; the most useful log is the one kept every day and discussed with a clinician. A spreadsheet's strength is arithmetic: once the formulas are right, it averages and splits mornings from evenings without slips. Like paper, though, every number is still copied by hand.
In a small 1998 study, 30 patients kept paper logbooks while their monitors secretly stored readings. On average, the logbooks left out 36% of readings, added 9% that the monitor had not stored, and matched the stored value exactly for 76%. A 2017 analysis of data from 25 trials found self-monitoring alone was not linked to lower blood pressure at 12 months; combined with support such as planned medication adjustment, education or counselling, it was.
For pen and paper, the printable blood pressure log prints its date format in the header. The Monitor2Log diary is free for typed readings, the chart, history and an Excel export of one row per reading, and its print report adds averages and highest and lowest values. The export's timestamps sit in one UTC column, newest first, so convert them to local time before using the session formula. It can also read a photo of a blood pressure monitor's screen or a handwritten blood pressure notebook page (three free scan units a month, a notebook page using two, then a paid plan) and shows every row for checking before saving, because scans can misread digits. For the hand-over, see what to bring to a blood pressure appointment.
Sources
- European Society of Cardiology, 2024, guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension, section 5.2.3 and Figure 4 on home monitoring.
- NICE, 2019 (last updated 2026), NG136 hypertension in adults, recommendations 1.2.7 and 1.2.8.
- Microsoft Support and Google Docs Editors Help, 2026, the AVERAGEIFS function in Excel and Google Sheets, with the other function, chart and date pages linked above.
- Journal of Hypertension, 2022, Kyriakoulis et al., optimal and minimum home monitoring schedules from 2,122 participants' data.
- American Journal of Hypertension, 1998, Mengden et al., how accurately patients report self-measured readings in logbooks.
- PLoS Medicine, 2017, Tucker et al., self-monitoring of blood pressure: individual patient data meta-analysis of 25 trials.
General information only, not medical advice. Which readings to take, which to count and what the averages mean are decisions for your own clinician.