Do any of you use blood pressure monitors?

[MickyMacgraw]

I've been scouting around on the Argos website and have found some that are pretty cheap, are these worth buying? What has the more expensive models got that the cheaper ones don't and are these blood pressure monitors easy to use and understand?
I must add that I'm not buying because of health problems but just to keep an eye o my blood pressure in order to log the times that my blood pressure goes up in order to understand when I am more stressed and so can in the future avoid these situations.

[yogi-bear]

A while ago whilst in Lloyds pharmacy, saw a range of blood pressure monitors ih there that were not too expensive..........i'll send you a link, MM.....hold up......


http://www.lloydsphar...alogId=1008&langId=-1

or you could try Boots or Superdrug, as well as Argos.

[gingejbee]

Which test results:


http://www.which.co.u...7_blood_r3-231135.pdf

[gingejbee]

As you can see, some (even expensive) ones are not worth having: choose carefully!

[MickyMacgraw]

Thanks I'll look into your suggestions.

[redcrx]

according to Mr CRXs GP you should only buy the arm cuff ones, the ones that fit around wrist arent accurate in his opinion.

we bought one in tescos pharmacy

[joannie10]

i got one out of boots - their own make and it was around £20. It was the arm cuff one and had it compared at the hospital and it was pretty close to the manual one they were using.

[daftgrandad]

How do you intend to "keep an eye on your blood pressure " over any given period of time ?
BP can change in the space of a few minutes,so it could become a full time occupation.

[sandyRoe]

I'm not sure if a monitor would be much use. Constant high blood pressure is the health hazard. Your doctor might advise a change of diet, losing weight, stopping smoking, exercise, or even medication, to help deal with

[MickyMacgraw]

Daftgrandad this is what I've suspected for a little while as I was going through intense stress and went to the doctors on an unrelated matter and the doctor took my bp which i thought was going to give a Through the roof reading and was surprised that it came back back as normal.
Sandy my life is not that stressful at the moment and my weights good,diets in checkand I go to the gym but admit to smoking which I've been cutting down on. I also take Ginseng and Rhodial Rhosea which i think has helped but still think that at certain times my bp goes sky high, maybe this is just part of being a human and i'm turning into a hypochondriac!

[sandyRoe]

Having high blood pressure doesn't produce any symptoms. If you feel stressed or angry it doesn't follow that your BP has shot up.
I wouldn't waste any money on a monitor.

[cazzz1975]

to a point I agree with sandy, high bp can be devoid of symptoms, when you are feeling stressed your BP may not necessarily rise either. I can understand why you would like to buy one though.

If I were you I would be looking to try to either cut down my stress levels or find some sort of relaxation time in your life that will make you feel better on the whole. you seem to be doing everything else x

[Almendros]

Hi, I used an arm cuff for a few years but it wasnt all that convenient to take off pullovers and shirts etc so I moved on to a wrist cuff that I use every day.Take the pressure in the morning, before eating.Sit quietly for at least 3 minutes, the arm resting but bent at the elbow so that the device is level with the heart.
I have used the OMRON RX-3 for a couple of years snd am very happy with it. I can see that it is available on Ebay for 30,pounds. I wouldnt look for cheaper.

[Sqad]

Micky...excellent idea and if you were on BP tablets it would be an even better idea, but as you are not, then taking it perhaps once a month would be sufficient.
Upper arm and wrist are just as good, although I prefer the upper arm personally, the Boots machine mentioned above is excellent.

If it always turns out to be normal.......don´t get "hung up" on your BP

daftgrandad
<<<BP can change in the space of a few minutes<<<
Not really.

[Sqad]

sandy

<<<Having high blood pressure doesn't produce any symptoms.<<<

May not produce symptoms (the silent killer).....but often does.

[MickyMacgraw]

Thanks for your informative answers, i was going to get the wrist worn one but as said by some of you and i the product reviews it seems that these are the ones most likely to give out wrong readings so I'll shoot for the static device.

[carlton23]

I leave it up to my GP to check mine whenever I see him about once a month.