Blood Pressure Monitors
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If you need to monitor your blood pressure because your doctor has suggested it, or you simply want to know what your blood pressure is from time to time, then this site should provide the information you need. If you do a search on Amazon.com using the term “blood pressure monitors”, you get no less then 4,772 results! With so many blood pressure products available to the consumer, how do you know if you are purchasing a product which is accurate and reliable. The purpose of this site is designed to give some direction when deciding on the purchase of a blood pressure monitor. Before we discuss blood pressure monitors, lets first examine what blood pressure is, and why it is important to keep it within an acceptable level.
What is blood pressure? Simply stated, blood pressure is the force, measured in millimeters of mercury, of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. In measuring blood pressure, there are two numbers which provide you with a measurement of this force. Systolic, the top number is the force exerted while the heart is pumping, and the diastolic, which is the bottom number and is the force being measured when the heart is at rest between pumping.
What is considered high blood pressure? Any blood pressure above 140/90 is considered high blood pressure. What is considered high blood pressure has been a matter of debate over recent years, but currently any blood pressure above 140/90 is considered high. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, has different levels of severity. The following table breaks down these levels.
| Severity Level | Stage | Systolic | Diastolic |
| Mild | Stage I | 140-159 | 90-99 |
| Moderate | Stage II | 160-179 | 100-109 |
| Severe | Stage III | 180-209 | 110-119 |
| Very Severe | Stage IV | 210 or > | 120 or > |
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What are the causes of high blood pressure? There are actually two forms of high blood pressure. One is called essential, also called primary, and the other is called secondary. 95% of people who have high blood pressure have primary hypertension. The cause of primary hypertension is not known. What is known is that there are several factors which when come together, seem to increase the likelihood of developing primary hypertension. Factors which can increase the probability of developing high blood pressure are as follows:
- High salt intake
- Race (African American’s have a greater probability of developing high blood pressure)
- Obesity
- Genetic susceptibility (A history of high blood pressure in your family increases the probability)
- Caffeine intake
- Anxiety level (Anxiety does not cause persistent primary hypertension, but high anxiety episodes can raise your blood pressure temporarily)
These are simply factors which can increase the probability of developing high blood pressure. To date, as stated, the root cause for primary hypertension is not known.
There are different estimates about how many people in the United States have high blood pressure. Although some sources say one in five adults, most sources state that one in three adults in the United States has high blood pressure. The reason why it is hard to give an estimate on this is because many people have high blood pressure and they do not know it. This is why high blood pressure has been called the silent killer. Citing statistics from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), about 50 million adults in the United States suffer from high blood pressure. That my friend is a lot of people.
So why do you not want to have high blood pressure? High blood pressure may lead to a heart attack, complete heart failure, stroke, or kidney failure.
So how can you keep your blood pressure down? Your blood pressure can be kept down with medication from your doctor, but if you have mild high blood pressure, you should try to get it down yourself. The following are methods that you can do in order to lower your own blood pressure. Since most people would prefer a natural means of blood pressure reduction, lets look at some of these methods.
Natural Methods for Lowering Your Blood Pressure:
- Exercise
- Lose weight
- Decrease salt intake
- Decrease caffeine intake
- A diet low in fat and more fruit and vegetables
- Decrease stress level through meditation or whatever method works for you
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It should be noted that for every 2.2 lbs of weight loss, you can reduce your blood pressure by about 1mmHg. So if you have border line high blood pressure, or have mild high blood pressure, simply losing weight may do the trick and you would not need medication.
So as you can see, keeping your blood pressure down within acceptable guidelines is important. Which brings us to the main gist of this site. What are the types of blood pressure monitors available on the market today, what are the best ways to monitor your blood pressure, and what are the best blood pressure monitors you can use?
To start, you must monitor it at home and you should not depend solely on the readings you get in the doctors office. Many people have white-coat hypertension. This is where your subconscious mind has conditioned you to produce a high blood pressure when it is being measured at the doctor’s office. This is probably do to the fact that most people know the importance of keeping your blood pressure down, and yet they do not want to take medication, this can produce some nervousness in some people, which can raise your blood pressure.
Here I can bring to light my own personal experience. As a pilot who flies on some weekends for pleasure, I need to maintain what is called a third class medical certificate. To maintain this certificate, part of it requires that I keep my blood pressure within FAA guidelines. But every time I have a medical exam completed by the FAA medical examiner, the first blood pressure reading is usually fairly high. Usually after waiting a while it will go down some what. I know the importance of keeping my medical certificate in order to fly. Anxiety temporarily raises blood pressure. Therefore, by taking it at home and showing my doctor my measurements, this provides a more accurate reading for him to look at. But of course he needs to take a measurement in his office to make sure I am not cheating. Usually he will take it later after I have had a time to relax, and by then my blood pressure usually goes down within acceptable levels. The point I am making here is that just being in the doctors office can raise your blood pressure.
Therefore, it is imperative that you take your blood pressure at home. Your doctor may even require it. So what blood pressure monitors are available, and which of these produce accurate results.
Blood Pressure Monitors - Type and Accuracy
- Automatic Arm Cuff
There are many of these available on the market. These go over the upper arm and inflate automatically, and usually provide a digital read out. Most of these are very accurate, but they may not be accurate if you have a irregular heart beat. - Manual Arm Cuff
There are many of these available on the market. They work just like the automatic arm cuff, but you need to manually pump up the cuff. Most of these provide a digital read out, but you can buy those like you see in the doctor’s office which have a needle read out. Manual arm cuffs are also very accurate, and accuracy in general does not decrease with an irregular heart beat. - Wrist Monitors
Wrist monitors are very convenient, but they tend to produce slightly less consistent results compared to the automatic and manual arm cuff. These are also more expensive then the automatic and manual arm cuff. - Fingertip Monitors
These can be expensive and they are considered less accurate then the above mentioned three.
Some people believe that the needle read out is more accurate then the digital read out. Studies have shown that this is not the case. Digital read outs are just as accurate as needle read outs. The technology for blood pressure monitoring has increased steadily over the years. Most home blood pressure monitors are very accurate, just make sure to follow the suggestions for accuracy in the pamphlet which goes with the monitor.
By checking your blood pressure within the relaxed confines of your home, you avoid false readings of white-coat-hypertension. So home measurement of your blood pressure really is considered the best and most accurate blood pressure monitoring.
Also, another interesting study showed that those individuals who consistently measured their blood pressure at home had consistently lower readings then those who only relied on doctor office readings. There seems to be a positive psychological effect when you are consistently monitoring your blood pressure with the goal of getting it lower.
Given that there are 4,772 product results when doing a search at Amazon.com for blood pressure monitors, it would be helpful to know what is the number one best seller. The number one best seller on Amazon.com for blood pressure monitors is the Omron HEM-780 Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor with ComFit Cuff. This is currently selling for $67.89. But there are other brands which may be cheaper and they are just as accurate and reliable. It is interesting that the first 5 items that come up on Amazon.com when searching for blood pressure monitors are Omron’s. For some reason, these are the most popular blood pressure monitoring devices.
While it is difficult to find completely objective reviews on blood pressure monitors, Consumer Reports has provided some information on this matter, to a larger degree to subscribers and to a lesser degree to non-subscribers. An article in the Journal Clinical Diabetes states that Consumer Reports recently tested 16 of the top blood pressure monitors and found that the number one blood pressure monitor was the Omron Intellisense HEM-711AC, which can detect irregular heartbeats in addition to accurate blood pressure.
In 2004 the Pharmacist’s Letter published a three-page report on home blood pressure monitors, for doctors to give their patients. It included a comparison table of leading models. Among automatic arm units, the “products rated most highly by Consumer Reports” were:
• Omron HEM-711AC
• Omron HEM-712C, Omron HEM-712CLC
• ReliOn HEM-741CREL
• Lifesource One Step UA-767V, Lifesource One Step UA-767VL
It said two manual arm units were “equally rated by Consumer Reports”:
• Lifesource Manual Inflation BPM UA-702V, UA-702VL
• Lumiscope Semi-Automatic BPM 1060
And it said that one automatic wrist unit was “rated most highly by Consumer Reports”:
• Omron HEM-637
So there you have it, recent testing results from Consumer Reports. The companies that produce the blood pressure monitors are very competitive and they are always pushing the technology forward within their research and development departments. The benefactor to this of course is the consumer.
Blood Pressure Monitors - Conclusion
In summary, it is essential that if you have mild or greater blood pressure, you must monitor your blood pressure at home. If you do not keep your blood pressure under control it can lead to a heart attack, complete heart failure, stroke, or kidney failure. There are many blood pressure monitors available on the market today. Here we have given some recommendations. Most blood pressure monitors produce reliable and accurate results. Most importantly, check your blood pressure on a regular basis because in doing so, you may save your own life.
