Blood Pressure Monitor Buying Guide

If you have recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure, or any other ailment resulting from high blood pressure, it is imperative to properly monitor yourself. By doing so, you can more easily make the necessary changes to your lifestyle by finding the exact times of day, foods, or activities that increase your blood pressure. Through this knowledge, you will more easily relieve your body of this burden. To begin checking your blood pressure on a regular basis, buy a personal blood pressure monitor.  It will cut back on your visits to the doctor's office, and relieve you of the data-skewing "White Coat Syndrome", a fear occurring when one enters a hospital or doctor's office, which creates a change in normal heart rate.

Whichever monitor you choose, it is vital that you know the correct size. Without a properly fitted monitor, the readings may not be reported correctly.

Firstly, you will want to choose between an aneroid monitor and a digital monitor.

• Aneroid monitors  are much like the one you find in a doctor's office. They have cuffs that are manually pumped to a certain pressure, which is displayed on a needle gauge. They require a stethoscope,  which may require you to buy one separately. However, some models have built-in stethoscopes.
• Digital monitors  are easier to use, and usually less expensive. The cuffs inflate automatically once it is applied and the power is switched on. If you would like your doctor to know your exact readouts, many digital monitors come with a printer,  which will give you a hard copy of your blood pressure. Digital monitors also have some degree of memory (from 20 to 200 readings) to better analyse your progress. Because digital monitors run on battery, you will have to replace them often. For an easy solution, invest in some rechargeable batteries. 

Secondly, you will want to choose whether you want an upper arm monitor  or a wrist monitor.  Evidently, the wrist monitors are notably less accurate than the upper arm monitors, as they are easily affected by slight movement and changes in temperature. However, one major study has found that if the wrist is at the same level as the heart (i.e. you are lying down), the measurement is highly accurate.

Related Products

Omron  make exceptional upper arm monitoring systems. For an upper-arm monitor chart comparison, click here.	Microlife	A & D