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Guide to Buying the Best Home Blood Pressure MonitorAmazon.com
Are they accurate? It is generally agreed that the accuracy of home monitors has improved vastly over the years, making them comparable to professional units. Various studies have confirmed this. In addition, monitoring at home can reduce or eliminate “white coat hypertension” – inflated readings due to tension felt in a medical clinic - essentially making them sometimes more accurate. Any other reasons to monitor at home? The British Medical Journal in July 2004 reported an interesting survey which found that patients who monitored at home had “greater reductions in blood pressure measurements and were more likely to achieve their target blood pressure than people who relied on office-based monitoring.” It seems clear that patients like to be involved in monitoring their own health. What kind of monitors are available? The most popular are automatic inflation upper arm electronic monitors, which combine convenience with accuracy. Typical is Amazon.com’s top-selling monitor, the Omron HEM-780 (picture) It is also possible to buy cheaper “semi-automatic” models, that require you to inflate the cuff yourself, but which then give an automatic reading. These do not have the convenience of automatic models, and because of inconsistencies by some users in inflating the cuff, the results can be unreliable. Finger and wrist units are rapidly growing in popularity. They are easy to use and are convenient for people who have difficulty placing a cuff on the upper arm. But some doctors have cautioned that they lack the accuracy of the upper arm units. A best-selling wrist unit is the Omron HEM-650 Which are best? Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find informed and truly objective reviews online of healthcare products. Consumer Reports in September 2008 reviewed blood pressure monitors, but the results are only available to subscribers. See my article Consumer Reports and Blood Pressure Monitors for more detail. According to an overview of the results: Automatic arm-type blood-pressure monitors were more accurate, overall, than wrist monitors. Four of the arm models tested were judged to be excellent, partly because of their accuracy: * Omron Women’s Advanced Elite, The British Hypertension Society provides a list of recommended devices. Online sales sites like Amazon.com The most popular The most popular blood pressure monitors, according to sales made through this site, are: 1. Omron HEM-780 Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor with ComFit Cuff Tell me more… Check my report Home Blood Pressure Monitors – Selected Internet Resources for a small list of links. And for the latest information, and to see what other customers are buying, check out the following Amazon.com best-seller lists (which are updated hourly): * Best-Sellers in Blood Pressure Monitors * Best-Sellers in Automatic Blood Pressure Monitors * Best-Sellers in Arm Blood Pressure Monitors * Best-Sellers in Wrist Blood Pressure Monitors * Best-Sellers in Manual Blood Pressure Monitors See Also: Reviews Articles Updated October 19th, 2009
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Categories Alternative medicine
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sells more than 5,000 blood pressure products. Not all are monitors, and some monitors come in dozens of varieties, each with a separate Amazon.com listing. But still, hundreds of home monitors are on the market. Where do you start?
Here are a few tips: