Between visits, a doctor or nurse may ask for readings taken at home: blood pressure, pulse, oxygen or temperature. Cleveland Clinic notes that a healthcare provider will let you know if you need to check vital signs at home regularly. When they do, the numbers need somewhere to go. A paper sheet keeps the whole week together, with the time of each reading, where anyone in the house can read it. This one is made for the person being checked and for the family member who helps, in large print.
What's in the free file
- One week on one page, Monday to Sunday, with a morning (AM) and an evening (PM) row for each day: 14 rows in all.
- Six columns for each reading: Time, SYS (the top number), DIA (the bottom number), Pulse, Oxygen (%) and Temperature.
- Three lines at the top: the person's name, the week, and "Temperature in", for the units the thermometer shows.
- Large print. The title is 26 point, the lines at the top 18 point, and the column headings and the days 16 point bold.
- Fill-in fields. Type into every line and box before you print, in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, or print it blank and write by hand.
- No pictures, no ranges, no color zones and no advice: a blank form only.
- Sizes: US Letter and A4, as two files.
What goes in each column?
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Day and date | The date, on the line under the printed day |
| AM or PM | Already printed: the AM row is for a morning reading, the PM row for an evening one |
| Time | The time the reading was taken |
| SYS and DIA | The top and the bottom number on the blood pressure monitor |
| Pulse | The beats a minute, from the monitor, the pulse oximeter or counted by hand |
| Oxygen | The % the pulse oximeter shows |
| Temperature | The number on the thermometer, in the units written at the top |
Fill in the readings you were asked for and leave the other columns blank. The sheet has room for all four kinds so that it fits whatever the person's doctor or nurse asked for.
How to fill in the sheet
- Fill in the name, the week and the temperature units first. Write °F or °C, whichever the thermometer shows.
- Take each reading the way the doctor or nurse showed you, and the way the device's own instructions say.
- Write the time, then each number exactly as the device shows it, with no rounding.
- Use the AM row for a morning reading and the PM row for an evening one. A reading at another time of day goes on the back, with its time.
- Leave a box blank if no reading was taken, rather than filling in a guess.
- Write anything different on the back or in the margin: a second reading, a new device, a reading taken somewhere else.
- Start a new sheet each week, keep the sheets together, newest on top, and take them to every appointment.
Which readings go on a vital signs sheet?
MedlinePlus says vital signs reflect essential body functions, including the heartbeat rate, the breathing rate, temperature and blood pressure. Cleveland Clinic names the same four main vital signs: body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate.
Many home sheets add oxygen. A pulse oximeter, the small clip that goes on a finger, uses light beams to estimate the oxygen saturation of the blood and the pulse rate, the FDA explains. Our free week has columns for the readings taken with a device at home: blood pressure, pulse, oxygen and temperature. Breaths a minute are counted rather than read off a screen, and they have a column on the all readings page of our full log.
How are the readings taken at home?
The person's doctor or nurse is the one to show how and when. These are the points the public sources make:
- Blood pressure: the CDC suggests measuring at the same time each day and recording the readings in a log, and says a member of the health care team can show you how to use the monitor correctly and how often.
- Pulse: a pulse oximeter shows it, and so do many blood pressure monitors. Cleveland Clinic describes counting it by hand for 60 seconds.
- Oxygen: the FDA lists things that can affect the accuracy of a pulse oximeter reading, such as poor circulation, skin pigmentation, skin thickness, skin temperature, tobacco use and fingernail polish, and says not to rely only on a pulse oximeter.
- Temperature: with a thermometer at home, Cleveland Clinic notes. Write the units once at the top of the sheet.
- Breathing rate: Cleveland Clinic describes counting breaths for 60 seconds, and says a friend or family member can help, since they can see the chest rise and fall.
Who keeps a vital signs sheet?
- The person themselves, when their doctor or nurse asks for readings taken at home.
- A family caregiver who takes the readings for a parent or a partner and shows the sheet at appointments.
- A home aide, who writes the readings in the same place each visit, so the family can see the week at a glance.
- Several people at once. When readings are shared, add your initials beside a reading in the margin.
Vital signs sheet or blood pressure log?
They share a layout. Our free large-print blood pressure log has the same morning and evening rows with columns for blood pressure, pulse and notes, for when the doctor asked for blood pressure only. The vital signs sheet swaps the notes column for oxygen and temperature. If blood sugar is checked at home too, our free large-print blood sugar log has before and after rows for each meal.
What this sheet is not
It is a blank form. It does not say whether a reading is high, low or fine, and it has no ranges or color zones on purpose: what the numbers mean for one person, and what to do about them, is for their own doctor or nurse.
Our full Large-Print Vital Signs Log adds the same week starting on Sunday, a My numbers page for the targets the person's doctor gave and the devices, an all readings page with breaths a minute and blood sugar, a blood pressure, pulse and oxygen page with one reading per line, a temperature, pulse and oxygen page for readings through the day, and a notes page.
A vital signs sheet is one of the printable forms for family caregivers that families keep together in one binder, next to the medication list and the other logs.
Frequently asked questions
What is a vital signs sheet?
A vital signs sheet is a form for writing down readings taken at home, such as blood pressure, pulse, oxygen and temperature, with the day and the time of each one. It keeps the readings together so they can be shown to a doctor or nurse.
What should be on a vital signs sheet?
The day and date, the time of each reading, and a column for each reading the doctor or nurse asked for. Ours has columns for the top and bottom blood pressure numbers, pulse, oxygen and temperature, with a morning and an evening row each day.
How do I fill in a vital signs sheet?
Write the name, the week and the temperature units at the top. After each reading, write the time and each number exactly as the device shows it, in the morning or the evening row for that day. Leave a box blank if no reading was taken.
Does the sheet show normal ranges for vital signs?
No. It is a blank form for writing readings down. What a reading means for one person is for their own doctor or nurse, and the full log has a page for the targets their doctor gave.
Where can I get a free printable vital signs sheet?
Doctor Carissa's free sheet is a large-print PDF in US Letter and A4, sent by email: one week with a morning and an evening row for blood pressure, pulse, oxygen and temperature.
Free printables come with a personal-use license: how you can use a printable.
Sources
We opened and checked every link on October 23, 2026.
- Vital signs, MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine). Vital signs reflect essential body functions, including your heartbeat rate, breathing rate, temperature and blood pressure; your health care provider may measure or monitor them.
- Vital Signs, Cleveland Clinic. The four main vital signs are body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate; temperature can be taken at home with a thermometer and blood pressure with a monitor; count the pulse or the breaths for 60 seconds, and a friend or family member can count breaths by watching the chest rise and fall; a healthcare provider will let you know if you need to check your vital signs at home regularly.
- Pulse Oximeters, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A pulse oximeter uses light beams to estimate the oxygen saturation of the blood and the pulse rate; poor circulation, skin pigmentation, skin thickness, skin temperature, current tobacco use and fingernail polish can affect the accuracy of a reading; do not rely only on a pulse oximeter.
- Measuring Your Blood Pressure, CDC. Record your readings in a blood pressure log; measure at the same time each day; a member of your health care team can show you how to use a monitor correctly and how often.
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