Wrist blood pressure monitor

[jaffacake8]

Hello all. I'm looking to buy a wrist blood pressure monitor and wondered if anybody who used this could recommend a particular one. I was diagnosed with atrial flutter this year and had an ablation in May and have an irregular heart beat which the EP said was normal for me. Any advise would be appreciated.

[Madlegs1]

The general feeling would be that wrist monitors ( the cuff type) are not particularly accurate.

You can get a perfectly good upper arm cuff one for under 50 sterling.

Just make sure you get the correct size cuff, as usually only one comes with the machine !

I got a Braun in Boots (Ireland) and it has been very easy to use. Came with 2 sizes of cuffs, so handy for measuring the family!!👍

Good luck.

[Heller62 in reply to Madlegs1]

My mother is also using the same.

[Hidden]

As per your other reply, wrist monitors are not as accurate as upper arm, which is why they’re not used by professionals. Can I ask why you’re specifically looking for a wrist one?

[jaffacake8 in reply to Hidden]

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I just thought that a wrist one would be easier to use but will probably get an arm one if it is more accurate.

[Hidden in reply to jaffacake8]

Ah, ok. Yeah, the only thing with the upper arm ones is getting the cuff on, but I’ve found it’s minor - I have an autoimmune form of arthritis that’s wrecked my hands and can manage on my own even when that’s flaring. If you’re going to spend money, I would always spend it on something that a doc will trust as reliable.

[jaffacake8]

No . However I'm thinking of getting a wrist heart rate monitor as well but undecided on which one to get. I'm using my son's fitbit at at the moment but don't think it's very accurate. My resting heart rate before i had the ablation was 145 so need to keep an eye on this in case it starts to go up.

[Hidden]

hello I have both (same make as per link in response above). I used the cuff for a year or so, it’s cumbersome especially on a winter morning getting your arm out of clothes! Also I needed to monitor in day and so for convenience got a same make wrist one which comes with an indicator too about heart rhythm- doesn’t say what’s wrong just that should look into it. I also found In May that the wrist one was the same as reading at GP (she asked me to bring) give or take 1 or 2 points on top and bottom numbers. Hope helps. My reason for cuff one is sheer laziness and comfort 😊

[jaffacake8 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for this info. Have just looked on the website and will order the Boots wrist one.👍

[Hidden in reply to jaffacake8]

having read other some of other posts my omron wrist monitor tells you if you have your arm in the wrong position / not the right height to be in line with heart. Positioning gets a bit of getting used to, I use on my left wrist and use my right hand under my bent elbow to support my arm so my wrist is at right height I mine with chest. But it flashes sign is not right height and error message if cuff not positioned right. Hope helps. Good luck with whatever you choose and hope helps with your health issues.

[jaffacake8 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for that. That's very useful to know. Which model do you have?

[Hidden in reply to jaffacake8]

OMRON RS1 Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor (Omron NE-C28P 1)

amzn.eu/d/8uMwPxx

Hope helps. Omron website says this model has irregular heart beat indicator, just checked as could not see this on link. There are others!!!! I went for cheapest.

[jaffacake8 in reply to Hidden]

That's great. Think i saw this one on the Argos website.

[Bravehearts]

hi braveheart here my heart rate went to 200 beats per minute then dropped to 25 beats per minute cardioligist called me in after consulting times to tell me if that happens again will be dead still here 3 stents heart monitor pacemaker inplanted still undergoing treatment for heart murmour passed out on many occassions my body thinks an ambulance is a taxi lol

[jaffacake8 in reply to Bravehearts]

Oh my. That must have been so scary for you. Hope everything goes well and that you won't be calling for too many taxis.😊

[Bravehearts in reply to jaffacake8]

thank you doctors call me dead man walking lol got two appointments with oxford radciffe hospital hope this year something can be done had same problem with blood pressure a teaspoon of honey each day and small glass of pomegranite juice works wonders havnt had blood pressure problems since every day wake up still here carry on maybe not the life I used to enjoy but there is somebody out there worse off than yourself 😜

[jaffacake8 in reply to Bravehearts]

Think I'll have a go at the honey and pomegranite juice. Im having a go at the Dash way of eating at the moment. I hope your appointments go well and wish you all the best.😀

[studebaker in reply to Bravehearts]

I loved “my body thinks an ambulance is a taxi” 👍🏻😂

[MelB51]

I think the wrist type are accurate from my own experience, comparing the readings with a cuff type monitor but I would say that the wrist type are more difficult to use. You need to put it on, set it off and then ‘search’ for the place across your body where the monitor picks up the readings. You have to hold your elbow to guide it too. Mine is from Boots but honestly, a cuff is much easier to manipulate!

[Rnzz99]

Hi. I found the wrist monitor very inaccurate. But I researched taking the blood pressure on the forearm with the normal monitor and, with a bit of practice, it records within a couple of points of the top of the arm measurement. Google how to position it.

[Cavalierrubie]

Get one from Boots. Mike is brilliant and shows if you have irregular heart beat as well. Boots is so reliable and everything is tested and approved before they sell anything. They are reasonably priced. Can’t remember how much mine was as had it 4 years now but know l didn’t pay the earth. Best wishes to you and remember AF is a beast but doesn’t kill you. Don’t let it define who you are. Take care.

[Cavalierrubie in reply to Cavalierrubie]

sorry that should read MINE is brilliant

[jaffacake8 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

Thanks for your best wishes. I must admit that I'm struggling at the moment but just trying to move forward and get on with my life a bit at a time. Best wishes to you as well.😃

[Cavalierrubie in reply to jaffacake8]

Yes it is difficult at first to adapt and can be very scary. It made me quite ill until l got meds. sorted. Most of which my body would not tolerate. I thought my life was over BUT now three years later l am living almost a full life. There is joy and laughter again you see! It will be ok. Just keep going forwards and thank God it’s not more serious. It is treatable and as the Cardiologist told me it’s not life threatening. Hold on to that. All the best on this journey.

[Cavalierrubie in reply to jaffacake8]

ps. So sorry you lost your Mum. It’s awful losing a mum and the grief won’t help you right now with your symptoms. I hope things will get better for you in time. Take it easy it’s not a race! One day at a time is good.

[jaffacake8 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

Ahh thank you for your kind words. I guess I'm pretty much in the same place that you were 3 years ago. As you say it makes everything feel so much worse when you are going through personal issues as well but just have to keep going forward although very slowly.😃

[Silvertail]

I considered a wrist monitor, but was told by the pharmacist that they are not accurate. The arm cuff gives a more accurate reading.

[Saladay]

I have an Aktiia wrist monitor and an Omron cuff. The cuff is the more accurate but they do different things. The standard way (used by the profession for ever) of taking BP is with a cuff while sitting down at rest. The wrist monitor by comparison, takes readings whatever you are doing throughout the day. The science on the Aktiia says that it's within 7mm of Hg of the actual BP. This is not as accurate as one might like but it doesn't show a bias one way or the other, so should not consistently over or underestimate your BP, and should on average give a good guide to what's going on. It also tells you what's happening overnight (if your blood pressure is higher during sleep, it's a bad sign) which of course the cuff doesn't do. I wanted the wrist monitor to check what was happening throughout the day and night, but I still take a cuff measurement 3 times a day. The average of the wrist monitor does show, as expected because it records during exercise, stressful phone calls etc., a higher average reading, but in my case it is still well controlled. The cuff readings, as expected, are on average lower, but these are more comparable to what clinicians would be using to assess and make decisions. The Aktiia is a class II medical device which means it has actually done clinical trials which have been reviewed and certified as being adequately accurate, but it is a little expensive.

[jaffacake8 in reply to Saladay]

The Aktiia sounds like it would be useful to me as I would like to take readings whatever I am doing during the day as I keep getting random 'events'. My Mum died a few weeks ago and I'm making difficult and stressful phone calls which often cause symptoms of light headedness, nausea and palpitations etc so would be useful to monitor this. Thinks

[jaffacake8 in reply to jaffacake8]

sorry . Inadvertently sent this before I'd finished it. Just wanted to thank you for this info.

[Saladay in reply to jaffacake8]

Just to be clear it doesn't give you a reading at a specific time. It gives out regular 2 hourly readings, which I think are an average taken over that period, though I'm not sure exactly.

[kalgs]

They are not accurate. An automated device with cuff is the best as BP needs to be taken correctly

. No food or coffee etc 30 minutes before taking BP

Cuff level with heart

Sit upright with feet flat on the ground

Wait 5 minutes before taking first reading

Take 2 more readings each one minute apart

Ignore first reading

Look at Omron device

[wischo]

Yes I think thats an Omron M2 basic which is the one I use and very accurate. Boots name is the only difference.

[Phil_London]

Hi, I note that others have recomended tge Braun wrist BP monitor. I also have one of these for when I am travelling or put it in my bag for after excersise, its small and easy to carry around, It is good and my cardiologist agreed that it is a reliable monitor, I have checked it a few tines against an upper arm monitor and the results are always very similar so I think the Braun is a good bet.

[chicolini]

hi jaffacake, l already have an Omron arm cuff bp monitor and recently purchased the Omron wrist monitor. I needed to make some through the night recordings and it is too disruptive and noisy using the arm cuff . I read all googles bad press about the cuff monitors but went ahead anyhow.

I have conducted a careful comparison of the two monitors and found so little between them it's barely worth mentioning, like maybe 1 or 2 points sometimes . And seeing as l know my arm cuff monitor is very accurate because lve compared it with readings at the doctors, l believe my wrist monitor is also accurate, as far as home monitor accuracy goes.

Its really important to follow the instructions that come with them, regarding position of body and arm. Especially with regard to the straight level line between the wrist monitor and the heart. I am very satisfied with and confident in both the Omron arm and wrist monitors.

[Larivee]

I agree wrist monitors are not accurate or repeatable. Upper arm monitor is much better which is what I use now.

[Zundap]

hi Jaffacake, the BHF don’t recommend a cuff monitor unless you have difficulties on using a upper arm monitor. (Their advice can be seen on the BHF website). They do sell one wrist monitor on their website but all the rest are upper arm. Make sure that the monitor you purchase is approved by the British & Irish Hypertension Society (they have a list of approved monitors on their website listed by price which includes wrist monitors). You could take your new monitor to your GP and compare the readings to their calibrated blood pressure monitor.

[Elguajiro]

Hi Jaffacake, I was informed by my GP that the wrist bp monitors aren't very accurate. I bought one from Amazon, they have lots to chose from at varying prices. Mine has a good size sleeve. I also bought a blood/oxygen /pulse meter as well at reasonable price.

[Bravehearts]

you wont look back havnt had blood pressure problems for two years now another tip if you take bisoporil take it at night as it slows your heart rate down I found taking it during the day made me sleep more plus also dont eat anything after 3 in the afternoon b9dy cant break down food so quickly hope my experience helps and you feel better 👌

[jaffacake8]

I'm just taking Apixaban at the moment. I did a couple of recordings on heart monitor from the hospital and had an Echo last Thursday. I was told I had a leaky mitral valve so will know more when results are back. Also i had a CT scan on my heart a couple of weeks ago and a lesion on my adrenal glands was accidentally discovered but still waiting to hear about this.😱.

[ETHEL103]

Hi If you dont mind me asking.I also had a flutter ablation in May.How is your rythmn now.I get ectopic beats occasionally which i can feel everyone unfortunately but the flutter high heart rate that made me feel dreadful has gone.I havent had my 3 month checkup appointment yey even tho its been 4 now.

[jaffacake8 in reply to ETHEL103]

Hi I'm not really sure how my rhythm is but will hopefully be able to monitor my heart rate when I get the monitor. I get palpitations from time to time and can sometimes feel my heart racing and also missing beats. I had a follow up call from the arrhythmia nurse 3 months after my ablation and discussed my various symptoms as keep feeling light headed nauseous and breaking out into hot sweats at random times. Went to the hospital to have a monitor fitted which i kept for a few days and had an echo last week, so awaiting results. Have a leaky mitral valve as well so this could be causing my symptoms. I think so far that the ablation has controlled my heart rate but it's sometimes hard to tell. Hope you get your check up soon and fingers crossed for you.

[ETHEL103 in reply to jaffacake8]

Thankyou.I get the hot sweats and light heads too.I put it down to the 7 meds im on.Maybe i should chase up my checkup .

[jaffacake8 in reply to ETHEL103]

My symptoms could be meds. I'm just taking Lansoprazole for acid reflux and apixaban anticoagulant. I wasnt given any support after my ablation as to what to expect, a contact number if I was concerned about anything etc but my procedure was done as an emergency after a near collapse at the doctors on an unrelated issue, but saying that I would have expected a bit of information as to what to expect in the days and weeks following the procedure i think maybe you ought to give the hospital a ring as you've been waiting a long time. Hope it all goes well.

[ETHEL103]

will do thankyou.

[Geoff51 Heart Star]

Have a look on Amazon, I bought an arm cuff for around £25.

[Hidden]

without sounding like I’m going on and on about this just thought I’d share readings on my cuff and wrist monitors I took within a minute of each other. 136/98 heart beat 71 on arm cuff and 137/90 heart beat 71 on wrist. 😁

[jaffacake8 in reply to Hidden]

Think I'm going to go with the omron as the feature as to the positioning of it would be helpful and it's a good make which is clinically validated.

Thanks for your advice.😀

[Masters69]

not accurate I have both monitors my wrist reading and the standard blood pressure machine. Wrist machine reading way out