It’s easy to go online and read a bunch of blood pressure monitor reviews, but how do you know that you are getting an honest review?
I recently found out that, at the age of 40, I have high blood pressure and my husband thought it would be a good idea to get a monitor at home to keep a track of it.
We done some extensive research and found only two respectable makes which provide monitors. The main leader is Omron and the second one, not quite so big is Panasonic. However, we all know how respectable Panasonic is when it comes to buying a TV, DVD player or any other kind of electrical appliance which is why I thought I would mention it here.
When I was reading blood pressure monitor reviews I found that many websites and dealers were really just outlining the different benefits each different ‘model’ has to offer to different people. Not necessarily recommending one make and model above the other. So as long as you go for a UK validated make and model by a leading manufacturer, then you cannot really go wrong.
But what you do want to take note from and look into is the different features each one has and the different cuff sizes. If you have larger than normal upper-arms for example, then you’ll want to make sure that you get a one with a larger cuff. Having the correct size cuff on your arm is very important in order to give an accurate reading.
Also, some people like to gauge their heart rate and this feature is not necessarily on all basic models. For example, if your blood pressure is slightly high but your heart rate is low, then this is fine as it cancels out your high hypertension. Therefore, some people find this feature just as important as the blood monitoring itself so be aware of the different features when choosing.
Obviously the more features, the more money that particular model will cost. And there is not point in buying the top of the range model with all the features on if you aren’t going to use them because you don’t understand what they mean!
One last word of advice, be careful when reading blood pressure reviews on makes and models that you haven’t heard of before. Monitors don’t need to pass a validation test before being sold to the public and you don’t really want to buy a one which isn’t approved.
