Product advice
How do I choose a blood pressure monitor for home use?
Last updated
For home use, choose an automatic upper-arm blood pressure monitor with a clinically validated measurement system and a cuff sized to your arm circumference. Upper-arm monitors are more reliable than wrist models, and an incorrectly sized cuff is the most common cause of inaccurate home readings.
Upper-arm, not wrist
Wrist monitors are convenient and consistently less reliable, because the reading depends on holding the wrist at exactly heart level and on the smaller arteries there. For monitoring that a doctor will act on, an upper-arm monitor is the sensible default.
Cuff size is the thing people get wrong
Measure the circumference of your upper arm at its midpoint and match it to the cuff range printed on the box. A cuff that is too small reads high; one that is too large reads low. Either error can be large enough to change a treatment decision, which makes cuff fit more important than almost any feature on the spec sheet.
Worth paying for
- Clinical validation of the measurement system by a recognised protocol.
- Memory storing multiple readings, so you can show your doctor a trend rather than one number.
- Irregular heartbeat detection.
- Two-user memory if more than one person in the household will use it.
- Mains adapter support — batteries run down exactly when you need a reading.
Note
A home monitor supports care from your physician; it does not replace it. Do not change any medication on the basis of home readings without speaking to your doctor.