Home blood pressure monitors - Anyone got one?

Draeger

Draeger

Draeger

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Hi,

Not a medical condition advice thread as such - To those who have home blood pressure monitors, how do you find the accuracy of them? Been reading online for some info with a view to purchasing one and there appears to be debate over the Wrist vs Upper Arm types suggesting that the wrist types are far more inaccurate in comparison to the upper arm variants.

Any comments or suggestions welcomed. :)
 
It's generally accepted the upper arm ones are more accurate. Mind you, there are some new techniques arriving for wrist measuring that sound promising, and then there's a big question as to whether the pressure in your arm is an accurate representation of what's going on in your heart anyway.
 
Omron upper arm ones seem to be well 'approved'.

I had mine checked at my GP and its results tallied well with their rather more industrial one. It's worth spending a little to get relatively accurate and reliable results as it can end up saving quite a lot of time by not having to actually go to the GP's to get your BP monitored as often. You keep your own spreadsheet of results, and they then check your BP at the GP's every once in a while along with reading your home results.
 
hughtrimble said:
Omron upper arm ones seem to be well 'approved'.

I had mine checked at my GP and its results tallied well with their rather more industrial one. It's worth spending a little to get relatively accurate and reliable results as it can end up saving quite a lot of time by not having to actually go to the GP's to get your BP monitored as often. You keep your own spreadsheet of results, and they then check your BP at the GP's every once in a while along with reading your home results.
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Looking for one too..

Had 220 over 190 a couple years back and am on meds bringing it to normal, but need to have it checked.
 
Their ability to give an accurate reading is hindered by poor usage, poor actual design and the fact that the younger demographic (not so applicable to you) are unsuitable due to their physiology. The actual accuracy you will get will not correlate with what you want to know. Basically at best you will get a ballpark figure but when you need a quite exact figure to find out what you wish to know then it is pointless. Same for the ones at the GP they will tell you if something is broadly bad/good/ok and what you are comparing it to will be based off a manual reading anyway.
 
hughtrimble said:
Give your GP a buzz - they may be able to recommend another make, or give you confidence in Omron.

May I ask whose monitor you got those results on?
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Was taken to hospital for a possible heart attack, so it was taken at the Ashford hospital... a few other times to verify the results as well... (no heart attack btw).
 
The Omron ones seem to get good reviews as do the Boots made ones. But then again, all these reviews are fairly circumstantial it would appear. I imagine plumping for an Omron would be a much better prospect compared to buying a £10 job off eBay, being shipped from China. :)

Xordium said:
Their ability to give an accurate reading is hindered by poor usage, poor actual design and the fact that the younger demographic (not so applicable to you) are unsuitable due to their physiology. The actual accuracy you will get will not correlate with what you want to know. Basically at best you will get a ballpark figure but when you need a quite exact figure to find out what you wish to know then it is pointless. Same for the ones at the GP they will tell you if something is broadly bad/good/ok and what you are comparing it to will be based off a manual reading anyway.
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Absolutely take all that on board. 'Ballpark' is all I'd expect from home testing kits such as these. You sound like you have a good knowledge of the subject, are you in a medical profession?

Steampunk said:
and then there's a big question as to whether the pressure in your arm is an accurate representation of what's going on in your heart anyway.
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I did read mention of that too, quite interesting although I'm an FPOS Instructor in my line of work in the emergency services, I don't have enough medical knowledge to read between the lines on the latest thinking of whats best - wrist or upper arm, although I do agree that it makes for interesting reading. :)
 
I have one that fits the wrist, you can get very varied results depending on how you are sitting & where your arm is when you use it, if you are apprehensive that you might have raised pressure then that very fact will actually give you a higher reading. So you need to be totally relaxed with your arm resting on the table about level with the centre of your chest, breath in & out slowly & then activate the inflate button
 
The upper arm monitors are generally held in better regard when compared to wrist devices. Omron ones are well recommended and their basically what are used in GP surgery's anyway. As Xordium has stated the key to monitoring BP at home is that it is only a ballpark figure for you assettain an estimate and to monitor trends. The key is to do your readings at the same time each day and not after any sort of exercise. Do not become obsessive about doing the readings either. I've seen far too many people who turn up with a diary of their readings with 5 or 6 measurements everyday! Bonkers. Twice a week is more than enough. Also be sure to get a cuff size that is appropriate. If you are a larger person larger cuffs are available and using the normal cuff size is pointless. These monitors certainly have a place in BP management at home but they are no substitute to seeing your GP/practice nurse who will hopefully have better equipment or ideally measure it the old fashioned way with a stethoscope and sphyg.
 
You just need to do the same thing every time. Same time of day, resting for at least 5 minutes. Bear in mind that you will get different readings if you were sitting, standing and lying down. To remove any bias (although it shouldn't be needed) I would keep the machine at the same level as your heart. The cuff needs to go all away around the arm - you never get a lower BP from a big cuff but you will get a higher one from a smaller cuff. Do a test run and see what you ball park figure is then adjust the settings to take the systolic 30 above that (is should have max inflation pressure) overinflation eg a default of 180mmHg on someone who is 120/80 will give a higher reading. Pay attention to any lines which say place over you artery - aim for the big vein you can see where you arm bends the opposite side to the elbow - that is near enough. As for result well on something this inaccurate then just plot them same time every day and draw a line of best fit. It will show a trend which I am guessing is what you want it for. Blood pressure measurement is an art and in all fairness most healthcare professionals suck at it!
 
Well I picked one up this afternoon in Asda. An Omron M2, on offer at half price - £10. The M2 is a basic 'Upper Arm' design but seems to get fairly good feedback so I thought for a tenner it was worth a pop. Only stores your last recorded pressure so will need to keep a written log if I want to monitor things over a set time period but for the small cost it seems reasonable.

Just had a go and I'm 113/82 which as far as I can make out from online charts is ok, albeit the Diastolic is a tiny bit high. :)
 
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Draeger said:
Well I picked one up this afternoon in Asda. An Omron M2, on offer at half price - £10. The M2 is a basic 'Upper Arm' design but seems to get fairly good feedback so I thought for a tenner it was worth a pop. Only stores your last recorded pressure so will need to keep a written log if I want to monitor things over a set time period but for the small cost it seems reasonable.

Just had a go and I'm 113/82 which as far as I can make out from online charts is ok, albeit the Diastolic is a tiny bit high. :)
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General advice I had was go for an average over three consecutive readings as they can be a little temperamental. If you are able, get someone else to note down the results and make sure they don't tell you them until after the last reading, if at all.
 
My mother has the Omron also. gives very similar results to the GP and is upper arm.

we always do the BP twice in a row, just to be sure, before logging it.
 
I'm currently still doing cardiac rehab following a heart attack. They use the Omron M6, (£45 ish) just to check patients prior to each session. (X2) They seem pretty accurate and robust. They will also check pressure in left and right arms for comparison. Just had a quick Google and they have a 3 year warranty. At that they look a reasonable buy.
 
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