Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

[Brucey]

re checking the calibration; the hose connections are usually simple push-fit ones (the pressures are low; 4psi would be quite a lot). You can use a T piece (eg meant for windscreen washers) to connect a calibrated gauge into the system or to couple two instruments together.

Or you can make your own water column (U tube) up and check the absolute gauge calibration that way. 2psi ~ 4.6' head of water = ~103.4 mmHg

cheers

[Flinders]

I use an A&D medical one, the UA-767 Plus 30. Does BP and heart rate.
That one stores the last 30 readings so you can go back and see them individually, and also does an average of the last 30 if you are looking for that.
I take mine to the GP once a year and we do one with mine and one with hers, that keeps a check on the calibration.
It will also register if the heart rhythm is irregular.

I have it because I can get a very dramatic white coat effect these days, since a bad hospital stay gave me PTSD.

(oh, and with that model, I believe you can get bigger cuffs for it if you are a larger person)

I gather some cheap nasty ones can be wildly out, to the point they could be dangerous if you relied on them. I'd always want to be able to check it against a calibrated one. Mind you, once my GP thought mine was 'out' but it turned out to be fine. Must have been a blip of some sort with hers or mine.

[crazydave789]

I was amazed when the hospitals got rid of the old mercury then aneroid spygmanometers - now they don't even teach them and the digital ones have many flaws.

as an ex medic I still have the old manual kit and compare it to the digital one we have, personally there's no comparison to listening to the thump and squish through a stethoscope. seems more human.

to get the digital ones to work I have to sit perfectly still for 5 mins then use it, move my arm and I get another reading altogether.

[mercalia]

I was amazed when the hospitals got rid of the old mercury then aneroid spygmanometers - now they don't even teach them and the digital ones have many flaws.

as an ex medic I still have the old manual kit and compare it to the digital one we have, personally there's no comparison to listening to the thump and squish through a stethoscope. seems more human.

to get the digital ones to work I have to sit perfectly still for 5 mins then use it, move my arm and I get another reading altogether.

hehe the nurse who tried to take mine found that out - evening changing the batteries then getting another one - in the end she gave up, sort of

[Cunobelin]

Simples

Take it to the surgery

Measure on both, and then correct as required

[Tangled Metal]

What is the point of measuring your blood pressure? Do you know what it means? Can you spot anything important by taking your BP regularly?

If the answer is no to all the above then save your money. If BP worries you then see your practice nurse. See your GP top since they'll know more about it if things aren't right.

BTW I get white coat syndrome. I used to have low BP such that my GP told me I had to take care going up ladders and running up stairs. I still get the woozy feeling when I've had a tiring day resulting in falling asleep until late downstairs. On waking I go straight upstairs to bed and nearly black out in the bathroom.

However despite all that I often have to go back to see the practice nurse after a gp visit results in white coat syndrome and a very unhealthy BP!

Does anyone know what the high and low readings mean? I understood the low one to be the base pressure between heart beat pulses. The high reading gives the peak pressure mid pulse. The significance of these is when they go above 80 and 120 respectively. BTW I quoted them the wrong way around. If one is high but the other is low, does that mean anything?

[Paulatic]

What is the point of measuring your blood pressure? Do you know what it means? Can you spot anything important by taking your BP regularly?

If the answer is no to all the above then save your money. If BP worries you then see your practice nurse. See your GP top since they'll know more about it if things aren't right.

BTW I get white coat syndrome. I used to have low BP such that my GP told me I had to take care going up ladders and running up stairs. I still get the woozy feeling when I've had a tiring day resulting in falling asleep until late downstairs. On waking I go straight upstairs to bed and nearly black out in the bathroom.

However despite all that I often have to go back to see the practice nurse after a gp visit results in white coat syndrome and a very unhealthy BP!

Does anyone know what the high and low readings mean? I understood the low one to be the base pressure between heart beat pulses. The high reading gives the peak pressure mid pulse. The significance of these is when they go above 80 and 120 respectively. BTW I quoted them the wrong way around. If one is high but the other is low, does that mean anything?

I think the point of measuring at home is it will be a truer reading. You along with most of us suffer from white coat. Take the doctors readings as gospel and I’d probably be on stupid drugs. I don’t need to know what the numbers mean I’m happy to know they are within certain parameters.
You mention you suffer from low blood pressure , are you sure ? Sounds more like bradycardia to me especially as you are fit and cycle.

[Tangled Metal]

Well it's what the doc said it explained the fainting if I got up quickly from rest. I'm tall so getting up from a low couch suddenly causes venal vagal I think that's how it's spelt. Orthostatic hypotension is what causes the fainting.

No longer have it although getting up quickly late at b night then going quickly up the stairs and having a pee. Each on their own has little effect but combined, especially if I had dropped off to sleep just before getting up, and I feel woozy. I can feel orthostatic hypotension coming on.

As far as white coat syndrome goes it elevates my BP but only a few times to levels serious enough to trigger repeat checks. The repeats generally only take one visit or two. For me I don't get it seriously enough to warrant buying a BP monitor I reckon it'll become a toy only like the body analyzer scale and activity trackers. Monitoring only has meaning of you have a reason to do it and you know what to do with the information gained.

I believe research into self tracking / monitoring services indicate they don't benefit the user the way they were designed for. Users find their own use for it. It's kind of create a device then find a use for it. BP monitors IMHO only have use of the medical expert (doctor) gets to use the data gained.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Many years ago I developed hypertension 175 / 125.
I had my kidneys scanned, a prof said 99% of cases cannot be attributed to anything, scarred kidney, asymmetric which will be normal.
But like scars on your hand you cant always remember when it was done.

If you are not on meds prescribed by your doctor then you don't need them, but white coat syndrome may mean that some monitoring might be needed if your BP when next tested does not come down.
They do nothing for new diagnosis under 145 / 90 or so, but some allowance for age.

You can have hypertension but not suffer any symptoms, I didn't know I was 175 / 125 at that time, a locum spotted it.
If you are on meds and exercise then your BP is like a roller coaster.
I can tell now, whether its long term meds or having hypertension for 35+ years, when my BP rises to an uncomfortable level, I get several symptoms which incapacitate me.

I have seen bradycardia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradycardia in a 18 year old, they need to sit before they faint.
My HR drops to less than 50 many times over the last 15 years, beta blockers were worst dropping to less than 40.

Like money if you have it then you don't worry.
If your not a long term sufferer of hypertension then you will hardly appreciate what its all about.

I think its a good idea if you are on meds to home monitor and this is what your GP will ask you to do if you just happen to get white coat syndrome twice, it will help to rule out a genuine case.

We cyclists and maybe other activity's too are likely as we get older to suffer these BP related problems and it is physically and mentally depressing, constant juggling trick.

[Mick F]

Simples

Take it to the surgery

Measure on both, and then correct as required

No, it's not as simple as that.

I've tried as you suggest, and all it does is give more results to stew over.

Stick my arm in the machine at the health centre and press the button and minute or so later, I get a printout of my BP.
Do it again, and I get a different figure.
Stick my other arm in, and I get another figure.
Repeat. Different figures every single time.
Stick one arm in the machine, and my BP device on the other arm = different figures again.
Repeat a few days later, and different figures yet again.

I've given up.

[Warin61]

I've given up.

"Measure twice, cut once"

If your into statistics then you'd want 6 readings and do a standard deviation on them.

Not worth it. Your going to die of something, make it quick and painless I say and I'd rather not be forewarned.

[Paulatic]

Well it's what the doc said it explained the fainting if I got up quickly from rest. I'm tall so getting up from a low couch suddenly causes venal vagal I think that's how it's spelt. Orthostatic hypotension is what causes the fainting.

No longer have it although getting up quickly late at b night then going quickly up the stairs and having a pee. Each on their own has little effect but combined, especially if I had dropped off to sleep just before getting up, and I feel woozy. I can feel orthostatic hypotension coming on.

As far as white coat syndrome goes it elevates my BP but only a few times to levels serious enough to trigger repeat checks. The repeats generally only take one visit or two. For me I don't get it seriously enough to warrant buying a BP monitor I reckon it'll become a toy only like the body analyzer scale and activity trackers. Monitoring only has meaning of you have a reason to do it and you know what to do with the information gained.

I’ve googled OH and one of its causes is Bradycardia which is what my doctor gave me as a diagnosis. Thinking about it though I doubt I could make it up the stairs. It’s usually on my third step I need to find something to hang on to. Worse if I’ve had a glass of wine or beer.

WCS nearly cancelled a minor op on me as my BP too high to start it. Initially I used to have to return to surgeries for readings but it’s far more convenient to do it at home and save a 20 ml journey. What having a machine did do was stop the worry which you get from constant high readings at the practice. It hasn’t become a regular or compulsive thing to do. It must be a year since I last took my BP and only ever use it if feeling unwell. After all if I could get to see a doctor that seems to be the first thing they do.

[NUKe]

If you need one don't by an ebay/ discount supermarket toy. Get a clinically approved one from a reputable pharmacy. BOOTS Lloyds do them from around £35 , they also sell toys as well. If you want an accurate reading one with a cuff,

[Mick F]

I've given up.

"Measure twice, cut once"

If your into statistics then you'd want 6 readings and do a standard deviation on them.

Not worth it. Your going to die of something, make it quick and painless I say and I'd rather not be forewarned.

I've given up even thinking about BP any more.

There's another thread on here describing my BP readings and asking which one is correct. No such thing as "correct" because it varies so much. I can get a good figure and record that, and all the other ones are pointless. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a BP problem, just a problem with BP, and the more I think about it, the worse it gets.

[mercalia]

well I have ordered an Omron one in the end - spent more than I wanted but the real cheap Omron one only had a medium sizes arm band so would have needed to buy the wider one ( well some of us are not weedy weeklings )@£10+ so got the Omron Healthcare M3 one.

What I have been wondering if the best time to measure is just after you wake up?
though measuring after exercise would tell you how fit you are how quick your heart recovers?