BP monitor recommendations

[HHH2017]

Hi, my GP has advised me to buy a BP monitor. I wondered if anyone has any suggestions of what/what not to buy please? Thank you

[Olliemonty58]

Hi

I bought mine from Lloyds chemist. Have a look. They will advise you x

[Oreganway in reply to Olliemonty58]

I bought mine from Boots chemist. I get readings the same as my gp. Didn’t get an expensive one.

[HHH2017 in reply to Oreganway]

Good to know, thanks : )

[HHH2017 in reply to Olliemonty58]

Thank you x

[jobe1968]

I use an omron unit which has blue tooth and a good app for collecting history. It was bought on amazon much cheaper than the same unit at boots. It is the model above the unit my doctor has. So I trust the brand. For less expensive lidl and Aldi both sell units at around £30/40 pounds.

Mine in an arm unit. I have an older cuff unit. The results from the cuff units are not as reliable. OMRON seem to be in most doctors surgeries so I assume a good choice.

[HHH2017 in reply to jobe1968]

I didnt know about OMRON being in most surgeries yo thats really useful and I like the idea of the app. Thank you

[JohnCyclist]

Hi, I’m very pleased with my Kinetik upper-arm monitor. Also reports pulse rate and had been successfully ‘calibrated’ against my GP/nurse kit

John

[HHH2017 in reply to JohnCyclist]

Good to know you can calibrate with the surgery too. I’ll check iut kinetik 👍🏼

[Rosei]

I looked to see what kind my GP used, then got one from the internet, that was a few years ago. Occasionally I take my machine to GP surgery, when I have a BP check, and check my readings with their machine, so it has always been correct.

[HHH2017 in reply to Rosei]

Great tip thank you

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Currently I do not have one but the ones on the upper arm are more accurate than the wrist models. My GP is totally anti the wrist models - I got a refund on mine after we did a number of comparisons!

[HHH2017 in reply to MichaelJH]

I wasnt sure which would be most accurate so thank you.

[chris47]

I have an upper arm omron as it is the same one my doctor uses. Compare prices and check ebay and amazon

[HHH2017 in reply to chris47]

Definitely will do thank you. Omron seems popular.

[dunestar]

I have got OMRON from Boots. Couple of things to mention. You need to watch the cuff size if you've got fat arms like me! Also I was using the OMRON every day. When the cuff inflated it seemed to squeeze hard on one particular spot. This left me with a huge bruise - I'm on aspirin and was on clopidogrel at the time (since stopped). It's only just going now about 2 weeks later.

[HHH2017 in reply to dunestar]

Oh thats interesting Im on both of those but changing to Bisopronol any day. Thanks for the warning.

[Hidden]

I had the same advice. Was advised to go to Lloyd’s pharmacy, which I did. Seems fine and using it to create a BP diary for the GP.

Cheers,

J

[HHH2017 in reply to Hidden]

Thats exactly what I have to do and being put on Bisopronol as heart racing whenever I do even a gentle walk!

[Henry20]

I've had both arm and wrist models. The wrist models seem hopelessly inaccurate and a waste of money (sorry, cannot remember what I bought exactly).

The first arm machine (cheaper in Omron range) came from Lloyds - it seemed OK at first. Then things got serious when my BP was over 200 measured in hospital, so I was monitoring my BP closely. My measurements were far higher than those at the doctor's surgery - 15 to 20 points too high. Did a direct comparison then and yes it was 15 points higher than the nurse with a stethoscope; so the machine went to the tip!

Recently bought another one branded as Boots Intellisense, but I haven't been able to calibrate it yet - that's for the next appointment. However it seems OK and more in line with expectations. It should be in reasonable calibration.

All these machines seem to need you to be in a rested state and to sit still in a chair, legs uncrossed, arm band at height of heart. I always take a number of readings; latest measurement went from 151/81 down to 136/74 over about 6-7 minutes (you need to pause a min or two between readings). Make of that what you will.

However, I am not certain about any of this; the nurse with the stethoscope is listening and relies on her hearing to know when to take a measurement. Someone with acute hearing, therefore will take a lower reading than a nurse who is a little deaf because of ear-wax or going to too many rock concerts! So a machine should be more consistent, but could still be inaccurate in my opinion, so its always worth asking if you could do a check reading at your surgery. Machines in surgeries usually have a calibration sticker on them somewhere.

I certainly wouldn't buy the cheapest. Also, I wonder if the sales assistants really know about these machines.

Have they personally used one ever?

Do they have real performance knowledge based on independent data?

I've no idea. Regular readings from the surgery seem essential to me. I just use mine now to trigger a visit to the surgery if BP is going too high between visits; its their readings that really cause action to be taken.

A bit of a long reply, sorry, but I hope this helps.

[HHH2017 in reply to Henry20]

Please don’t apologise. Really helpful thank you. I have to keep a BP diary for GP and probably will need close monitoring going forward so think its worth investing. Thank you.

[Henry20 in reply to HHH2017]

Yes, I'm sure its worth buying one and keeping the records, despite all my cautiousness.

I got very depressed at see those initial high readings; I was very relieved when it seemed to have been a bit of faulty equipment.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it under control.

[HHH2017 in reply to Henry20]

I know exactly what you mean, it is depressing isn’t

it : ( Thank you for your advice & support I really appreciate it.

[Dockdog]

Lloyds chemists sell very good ones for less than £20, have had mine for 5 years and it works perfectly and is accurate. Other chemists I am sure do similar, absolutely no need to spend a fortune.

[HHH2017 in reply to Dockdog]

Great to hear, thank you.

[fantasyfanuk]

Hi, I’ve got an Omron monitor too, the sort that will synch to your smartphone. So I always have lots of readings to show medical staff to back up what I am telling them. V pleased with it. Got one with larger cuff too. Good luck, Helen

[HHH2017 in reply to fantasyfanuk]

I really like the sound of Omron & the app 👌🏽 thank you

[jobe1968]

On the subject of cuff. Here is what is written regards the cuff design of omron m7.

Omron Intelli Wrap

This system ensures consistent accuracy from any position around the upper arm. Consistency and accuracy are what make this Omron M7 different to some cheaper models

It has some kind of wrap around gripper in the cuff. Makes it much easier to use than my other cheaper bp monitor

[HHH2017 in reply to jobe1968]

Thats really useful info thanks so much : )

[HHH2017]

Thank you ALL so much for your kind, helpful, informative & supportive advice 👍🏼 I’m feeling so much more confident and ready to tackle the next phase of my recovery!

[Hidden]

Omron M10-IT - arm cuff type. Identical to my GP's, I have used this device (previously had an Omron but can't recall the model no.) for around 5 years now with excellent results. It allows you to upload your data to a computer and creat data lists and graphs. My cardiologist loves the reports I take to clinic (and occasionally email) because he can see any trends and as with many people, I appear to suffer from 'white coat syndrome' both in clinic, or at my GP surgery (so my GP gets the reports also.

[HHH2017 in reply to Hidden]

Im sold : ) Omron seems to be very popular & reliable. I love that you can share the reports with GP too. Thank you

[Hullensian]

Mine's an Omron unit from Boots. Had it years and it is still giving me same readings as the doctor's machine. Went to Boots in case I had problems - easier to sort out then having to go back to an on-line seller. If you haven't purchased it yet, just be aware that they are supplied with a standard sized cuff, so check the measurement of your upper arm prior to purchasing. One can purchase larger cuffs and at one time retailers just exchanged them.

[HHH2017 in reply to Hullensian]

Good point about Boots. Thank you very much for replying 👍🏼