Blood Pressure Monitor

[Ed Gibbons]

Looking for an accurate home blood pressure monitor. Feedback would be appreciated.

[Bill Dufour]

Off hand I am not aware of any. Kind of awkward and loud to be wearing one all the time.
Bill D

[Alan Rutherford]

Omron is probably the most reputable name and they have a large variety. We've been through several from them and other sources over the years. It doesn't take much just to measure blood pressure and you can do it for $20-30. For $50-80 or more you get storage of more readings, averaging, wireless connectivity, perhaps a more convenient cuff and other features. Most go on your upper arm. The kind that goes on your wrist is a little more convenient but may not be as accurate. Omron's "patented, pre formed ComFit cuff" with some models is stiff and might be slightly easier to use on yourself but it's also rigid and bulky to store.

Storage of readings is very useful. If anyone else will ever use it, the ability to store readings for 2 people is a plus and so is a "guest" setting so it will take a reading without storing it.

Wireless connectivity might be useful but we don't have it. Some of those apps are rated poorly. I would like to be able to easily download history to a spreadsheet. Except for that, I don't miss it.

We had an $18 wrist-type monitor from Harbor Freight for several years. We knew it wasn't as accurate but it was a lot easier to take with us.

There's a right way and a wrong way to measure BP. I'd urge you to learn the right way and then just do it whatever way is convenient many times until you learn when it's probably accurate enough. It's important to realize that BP can change greatly in a few minutes. Measure it while you watch TV, measure it again at the next commercial and compare. Do that until you're tired of doing it. You'll learn something.

Consider also getting a pulse oximeter. Much more convenient checking your pulse and the additional information of oxygen saturation can be important. $20 is enough and they will slip in a pocket.

IMO everybody should have both long before there's a medical need for them.

[Stan Calow]

cardiologist for family members recommended Omron as well.

[John Terefenko]

I have an Omron and it has the stiff cuff as mentioned above and is accurate but also as said above you will shock yourself how varied your readings can be from one minute to the next and the way you sit and move so best to take multiple readings and average them out. Read instructions as to the best times and ways to take readings. I also just got the oxygen monitor that goes on the finger and keep those readings along with the temp. monitor.

[Brian Deakin]

It may be wise to ask your doctor if the advise I was given is correct

Measure the blood pressure in each arm on a number of different occasions and then always use the arm which had recorded the highest blood pressure then you are always measuring the worst case scenario

[Ron Citerone]

I have an Omron BP5450 and it seems to work well.

[Lee Schierer]

I have an Omron BP760N. It gives readings that agree with the cuff my doctor uses. It has a sleeve you put your arm through. As long as you align the tube with the center of the inside of your elbow and keep your arm straight and relaxed, you get good readings. The instructions warn about taking several readings closely together. It also measures your heart rate and will warn of irregular heart beats.

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

Another vote for Omron. I have had them for 15 years.

In full disclosure, I work for Omron, but only for the last 4 years. Also, I work for a completely different division (Industrial Automation) than the health care division, so it does me no good if you buy an Omron BP monitor.

Actually, when people ask what company I work for, I tell them Omron and point them to the BP monitors as an example. The average person on the street is not going to know what a PLC or a safety light curtain is.

[Lee DeRaud]

My current Omron is 10+ years old and showing no signs of dying. (I'm too lazy to go upstairs to get the model number, and it's almost certainly out of production anyway. :))

One nice feature is that it will do multiple readings at 2-minute intervals and display/save the average. It has a USB connection to download saved readings to an app or in CSV (spreadsheet) format. I may replace it just because (1) it has that oddball in-between USB connector ("mini"?) and (2) the app/driver won't work with Win10.

[roger wiegand]

Another Omron vote. Take it with you to your doc and check the calibrations. Mine is spot on with what the nurse reads. The one I got has wireless connectivity to a phone app that stores and charts readings. I find this very helpful as I've been switching on and off meds and it often takes a dozen readings over a couple of weeks to decide what the effect really is (I seem to fluctuate a lot, so any single reading isn't very meaningful.) I download the data from the app to an excel sheet periodically to make a pretty graph for my doc.

[Mark Carlson]

We use a Omron series 10. Seems very accurate. Its best feature is that it syncs the readings to an omron app on my iphone. That way I have a history of all my readings.

[William Fretwell]

Blood pressure follows a circadian rhythm. It increases gradually during the day maxing out in the evening chaos. The most representative time is mid-morning. Try and take it the same time each day.

[Alan Rutherford]

Blood pressure follows a circadian rhythm. It increases gradually during the day maxing out in the evening chaos. The most representative time is mid-morning. Try and take it the same time each day.

That may be true in some cases but it's a much more complex subject than that. For some people finding the lowest reading in 24 hours is useful but for others it is not. I'd defer scheduling advice to the parties involved.

[Brian Elfert]

I bought an Omron recently because I was getting light headed for weeks on end and my blood pressure at the doctor's office was 100/65. By the time my blood pressure machine came the light headedness had gone away. The machine has never shown less than 150 for me so not sure how accurate it is because every doctor visit I am usually under 130. I need to take it to the doctor's office and see if they can compare it to a known good blood pressure reading.

[William Fretwell]

It’s not about finding the lowest reading but the most representative. This reading is the most useful for adjusting blood pressure medication doses. That’s the way we do it in Canada.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I also have an Omron, and it has the capability to synch to my phone, but I read the warnings on the app and decided to pass.
There is a lot on the inter web about where the data is stored that you give them, where the servers are located and how robust is their security software.
Not for me - but then I’m paranoid about my medical privacy.