Blood pressure is an incisive indicator of your overall health. High or low blood pressure can help doctors form a complete picture of your health and assist them with diagnosing many types of conditions.
There are many reasons a person may need or choose to monitor their own blood pressure at home regularly, but the most important thing is ensuring that you’re testing it properly and reading the results correctly. Luckily, there are some great products to help you with both.
High blood pressure can indicate that you’re at serious (and even immediate) risk of life-threatening incidents such as heart attack or stroke. Chronic high blood pressure usually needs to be managed on an ongoing basis through prescription medication.
Sometimes, blood pressure can momentarily spike due to a number of reasons, such as stress and extreme physical activity. Continually monitoring your blood pressure over a period of time is a much better indicator of your overall health.
While it occurs less frequently than high blood pressure, low blood pressure can also indicate a serious health issue and lead to other symptoms such as dizziness and nausea. According to the Mayo Clinic, low blood pressure can be caused by serious infections in the blood, known as septicemia, hormone-related disorders or diseases and dehydration, among other things.
An aneroid sphygmomanometer is the traditional blood pressure reading device you’re probably used to seeing at the doctor’s office. It’s manually operated using a squeeze pump to inflate the cuff on your arm with an aneroid dial to read the results.
While they’re accurate, these types of devices are best if you have a good understanding of how to read blood pressure results. On the upside, they never run out of batteries and can last for years.
Today, most blood pressure monitoring devices are battery-operated LED displays connected to an arm cuff. Buttons on the device start the process of swelling the cuff before reading your blood pressure as it deflates.
Some manufacturers have developed wireless monitoring devices that use Bluetooth to send the data from the arm cuff to a separate LED display or to an app on your mobile device. The benefit of this is that you can store endless amounts of blood pressure data over a long period of time for closer analysis by your doctor.
An ongoing trend in wearable technology, fitness monitoring watches often incorporate blood pressure readings along with things like sleep, heart rate, heart rhythm and more.
This blood pressure monitor is easy to use, as it only takes one push of a button once the cuff is fitted. Two users can store their blood pressure results so you can monitor changes or consistency over time.
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The large backlit LED screen makes this blood pressure monitor very easy to use and read. It’s sensitive enough to detect other issues such as heart arrhythmia. The cuff is great for larger frames, providing up to 17 inches of diameter.
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QardioArm Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor
This wireless machine uses Wi-Fi and an app on your phone to display results and track your blood pressure, so you can maintain an unlimited history of your readings. It’s small and compact, which is perfect for traveling or monitoring on the go.
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Dixie Ems Deluxe Aneroid Sphygmomanometer Blood Pressure Set
If buttons and machinery are too complex or you prefer to go old-school with your blood pressure reading, this traditional manual cuff and inflation set is ideal. It’s a durable piece of equipment, and you won’t have to worry about replacing the batteries.
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Omron 7 Series Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor
This monitor provides clinician-level accuracy of your blood pressure reading and alerts for irregular heartbeats. It provides you with an average result as well as the ability to store up to 60 readings.
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MorePro Health Monitor Smartwatch
This fitness and health tracking watch monitors your heart rate, rhythm, blood oxygen and blood pressure. If you need very frequent blood pressure monitoring, this device means it’s always available and discreet, although it’s not as accurate as other blood pressure monitoring devices.
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Drive Medical Economy Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor
To save you from replacing the batteries frequently, this monitor has an auto shut-off function. It also measures your results against the World Health Organization average and records up to 120 readings.
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Vive Precision Aneroid Sphygmomanometer Manual Blood Pressure Cuff
This manual blood pressure monitoring device is a little more time-consuming to use and read but provides a highly accurate reading. The sphygmomanometer also comes with a case for storage and travel.
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Bestinn Smart Watch Fitness Tracker
This wristwatch measures blood pressure, blood oxygen, body temperature and heart rate to give you an all-over picture of your health. The results wirelessly load to an app available for both iOS and Android users to monitor trends and spikes.
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iHealth Track Smart Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor
With wireless functionality, this device uses Bluetooth to send your cuff reading to the monitor. Along with your detailed results, a simple red, green and amber indicator lets you know whether your reading is healthy or not. An unlimited amount of readings can be stored in an app that connects to the device.
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Lauren Farrell writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
