Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

mercalia
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Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by mercalia »

went to a pharmacy free day to have mine tested and seems like I should be dead.
went to local gp and the nurse used theirs and took some time and quite a few readings for the readings to start to fall to normal. Seems like not a good idea to have a (brisk) walk before ( to get there )

I see there are discussion of BP here but all I want is a quick comment which BP monitor they have and if its accurate - no more than that. no rambling discussions :wink:
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Paulatic
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Paulatic »

Omron around £30. Accurate, same as my doctor uses.
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jessand
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by jessand »

Omron M2 £19.99 from Argos - on offer at the moment (or was last week!)
softlips
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by softlips »

There's usually a list of recommended ones on t British Heart Foundation website.

I have a Philips one which I know to be accurate as I've compared it side by side with hospital ones. Wrist ones are far less accurate than arm ones.

As important as the machine is just as important is knowing how to use them. The machine should be the same level as the heart, the sensor should be placed over the brachial artery, cuff should be the right size. All these things can change the readings.
Psamathe
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Psamathe »

I got an Omron M2, mainly because I considered Omron a reputable name. I have absolutely no idea about it's accuracy as it's ages since I had my blood pressure taken at GP and even then a lot can change ver the trip home so you expect a different reading surgery vs home anyway.

That said (and I've no idea how true is it of medical/health kit), tool manufacturers often have a range of "qualities" at a range of prices targeted at different use e.g. Husqvarna chain saws range from cheap for occasional DIY use through to expensive for intensive professional use. Might be that health kit manufacturers have similar "retail" and "professional" product ranges. But I guessed Omron have a name and reputation to maintain so probably one of the better ones.

I had also read (ages ago) that the wrist ones are less accurate than the upper arm ones.

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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Yes Omron I would recommend.

B.P. will vary at the doctors / home always does.
If you have a reason to measure it buy one for home.
No exercise / food drink / toilet visit etc / laughing................../ brisk walk to front of queue then sent to back or room with a door :?

Just relax in a chair for a time depending on when you last exercised....two hours after vigorous exercise for sure and B.P. will drop after exercise.
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mercalia
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by mercalia »

thanks for the comments

from the heart foundation they said go to another site,http://www.bloodpressureuk.org

http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/BloodPressureandyou/Homemonitoring/Choosingyourmonitor

I dont think the Omron will be ok as the cuff too narrow ( only up to 12" ) means extra expense and hassle
Last edited by mercalia on 22 Sep 2017, 5:40pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mick F
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Mick F »

Got mine from Lidl's a few years ago.
Sanitas SBM52
Youtube link via Google
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Z6ZHnK_JY

Seems ok.

I haven't used it or taken my BP for months as it seems pointless .................... but that's getting into rambling discussions. :lol:
Mick F. Cornwall
Brucey
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Brucey »

mercalia wrote:.... all I want is a quick comment which BP monitor they have and if its accurate - no more than that. no rambling discussions :wink:


try

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=aneroid+sphygmomanometer

no batteries, no BS.

Priced from about seven quid, and you get a stethoscope! (*)

They used to do one in Argos for about £15 but not any more it seems.

(*) Hours of fun, and unexpected uses, such as pinning down the location of tiny leaks in inner tubes.... :wink:

cheers
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axel_knutt
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by axel_knutt »

Which gave this one top marks for accuracy, and rated it best overall.
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softlips
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by softlips »

Brucey wrote:
mercalia wrote:.... all I want is a quick comment which BP monitor they have and if its accurate - no more than that. no rambling discussions :wink:


try

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=aneroid+sphygmomanometer

no batteries, no BS.

Priced from about seven quid, and you get a stethoscope! (*)

They used to do one in Argos for about £15 but not any more it seems.

(*) Hours of fun, and unexpected uses, such as pinning down the location of tiny leaks in inner tubes.... :wink:

cheers


These need regular calibration, I also see many nurses who can no longer get a proper measurement with them.
Brucey
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Brucey »

softlips wrote: These need regular calibration,


I think it is fairer to say these are required to have regular calibration in hospital use. They can be used many times a day, subjected to all kinds of knocks etc without anyone realising. In a domestic setting the same unit will get used a few times a week and you can know exactly how it has been treated in the meantime. Under such circumstances I would say that the chances of it going out of calibration are very much reduced and the intervals at which such an instrument ought to be checked can safely be extended.

I also see many nurses who can no longer get a proper measurement with them.


speaks volumes about the way the health service is run; it takes a few minutes to learn to take such a reading.

Most the electronic BP monitors I have encountered are not proof against error; should you knock them (even slightly) or twitch at the wrong time they will typically interpret this as a higher than is actual systolic pressure. God forbid that an automatic machine should realise that it is unable to take a reading; some of them will inflate the cuff to an astonishing (and excruciating) 240mmHg in an attempt to take a reading.

When a vaguely intelligent human being uses a sphygmomanometer, the cuff is only inflated to whatever pressure is required and frankly it doesn't take much skill to tell the difference between an accidental knock and the sound of bloodflow. If you take your own BP you can be sure that when the reading was taken you are properly relaxed, and that you didn't twitch at the wrong time, etc, which someone else might not spot.

'White coat syndrome' is well understood but I've yet to see any acknowledgement of 'white box syndrome', where the sight and sound of one of those poxy contraptions immediately makes someone's BP rise.... :roll: :wink:

cheers
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Mick F
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Mick F »

Brucey wrote:'White coat syndrome' is well understood but I've yet to see any acknowledgement of 'white box syndrome', where the sight and sound of one of those poxy contraptions immediately makes someone's BP rise.... :roll: :wink:
Just thinking of taking my BP puts it up. :wink:
Mick F. Cornwall
thirdcrank
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by thirdcrank »

Mick F wrote:... Just thinking of taking my BP puts it up. :wink:


And that's the rub. Having your own machine means you are thinking about it even more and to little benefit. The correct way to measure has been described above and having it taken differently in hospital etc., tends to make mine boil. :evil:

Until I told them they were wasting my time, I had regular appointments at Dewsbury General where I'd be weighed on similar scales to those used for jockeys, but with absolutely no interest taken in what I was wearing or had in my pockets. The difference between light summer togs and heavy winter clothing must make any comparison useless. Blood pressure taken by somebody checking personal details and holding conversations with colleagues at the same time, arm all over the place. Hard to escape the conclusion that it's two more spaces on the form completed and don't worry that the info is garbage.

Re calibration, the cardiac dept sister kindly let me take my own reading on my own meter immediately after she had taken it properly. Mine gave similar readings to hers.

Anyway, it's a dozen years since I went to the hospital. I have checks at the GP's from time to time when they call me in and with regular medication it's ok. Grandchildren keep me too busy to worry about blood pressure, even if they occasionally raise it. :wink:

================================================
PS Forgot to say I can't tell you what make my gadget is but I stopped bothering taking my own readings when I realised having the info was useless to me as a layman, but getting it was just increasing the stress.
Last edited by thirdcrank on 23 Sep 2017, 12:41pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mick F
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Re: Best ( cheap) accurate blood pressure monitor

Post by Mick F »

Yep.
All you say is spot on!
Mick F. Cornwall
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