Blood Pressure monitors

eternal · 01-14-2006, 04:38 AM

Hi all,
Does anyone here use blood pressure monitors, and if so which do you think are better, arm or wrist (automatic inflate) models?

I've been dealing with occasional high readings - so high my doc almost prescribed a blood pressure med. But when she took my pressure a little later than the nurse, it had dropped.
So I bought a wrist monitor so I could carry it to work easily, and now I'm wondering about its accuracy. The systolic number is usually about 9-10 points lower than the reading on my arm monitor. I tried both monitors on my mother and her systolic reading was about 7 points lower on the wrist one.

I will test it at my next doctor's appointment, but I just wanted to know if anyone here had any good or bad experiences with home bp monitors.

amayzd · 01-16-2006, 04:52 PM

Hi Eternal! I too have a wrist bp and an arm cuff model. I've chosen to use the wrist due to size and convenience and have had no problem. However, you may want to look at the paperwork that came with the wrist cuff and see what the degree of accuracy is and what standards the machine is programmed with. If you are taking your bp 3-4 times a day those readings should give you an indication if something is off. Also, with the wrist model your arm must be slighty elevated so it is in line with your heart? R U doing that? If not, that will affect your reading. If your arm is flat and resting, it will give a low reading. If the arm is too high, it will be a high reading. If you are sitting when taking it, make sure that the palm of your hand is level with your heart. Hope this helped!

eternal · 01-17-2006, 05:35 AM

Hi amayzd,

Thanks for responding!
It's an Omron HEM 609 model, and it's accuracy rate is +-3mg Hg for pressure & 5% for pulse rate. I usually hold my arm up to where the monitor is at heart level, but maybe I'm holding it too close to my body (?). I will try to hold it out some next time. I will also take about 3 reading a day instead of 2. I used it last week after getting a high reading in my doctor's office and the next day at work. I'm wondering if I'm at the beginning stages of high blood pressure

. I am recording everything to discuss with my endo at the next appointment. Before I let any doctor prescribe blood pressure medicine for me I will request another treadmill or maybe the 24 hour bp monitor.

jlbrown122 · 01-17-2006, 07:01 AM

My Mom's doctor told her not to waste money on the wrist monitors, and that the arm cuff models are the most accurate.

eternal · 01-17-2006, 08:34 PM

I came across an article online where a study was done in Switzerland on wrist monitors and they found that the wrist monitors readings were closer to the actual artery blood pressure readings, using a catheter (gold standard of measuring) than the traditional mercury monitors were. So I guess it all depends on the type of monitor used, etc.

I mainly use my wrist monitor while I'm away from home. If I start to feel odd and the reading is somewhat high, I will double check it with an aneroid or digital arm monitor (usually from a coworker). I knew when I bought it it wouldn't be completely accurate, but I thought it was good to use for "initial" monitoring.

amayzd · 01-18-2006, 07:53 PM

Hi again eternal, the degrees of error you listed for your wirst monitor are quite standard for most of the industry. The arm and wrist difference is not significant enough to worry about. If your bp is high, 5% up or down is not significant. Maybe it was high at the drs due to white coat syndrome? Mine is always initially high because my drs office waiting room always makes my allergies breakout. I can walk in fine and within 10min of being in the waiting room I'm sneezing, coughing, nose running and sweating and then they wonder why my pressure is up. Duh!! Give me 10 min in the backroom and its back to normal. I feel as you do regarding bp medicine. That is why I chart my own bp3 times a day.

eternal · 01-19-2006, 03:42 AM

Yeah, I thought about the white-coat syndrome also.
But what concerned me a bit was the way I felt at work, and then when my boss took my pressure, it was elevated. But luckily I've been getting mostly low readings. But I plan to research prehypertension more to see if I'm developing that.

amayzd · 01-19-2006, 07:12 PM

Maybe its not your bp? What are you experiencing? R U currently taking any meds? I take met and a few other script meds and I know I definitely have days I feel strange or sick and take my bp and blood sugar and they are normal. I attribute it to the meds and my body trying to adjust. I've been taking the meds for 3mos now and it does seem to get better with every day.

knoxnessa · 01-19-2006, 07:18 PM

i prefer wrist ones... but sometimes they may be a little off, so i would test it, take it in to the doc and ask him if you can test to make sure it is accurate, or call and ask if it is a good one... like all things some are better than others

eternal · 01-21-2006, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amayzd

Maybe its not your bp? What are you experiencing? R U currently taking any meds? I take met and a few other script meds and I know I definitely have days I feel strange or sick and take my bp and blood sugar and they are normal. I attribute it to the meds and my body trying to adjust. I've been taking the meds for 3mos now and it does seem to get better with every day.

Yeah, I also test my blood sugar when I feel odd. I'm taking 2000mg of Glucophage (about 3 years now), and I take pain meds (Ketoprofen, Ponstel, Propoxy) at different times depending on how my arthritis is flaring up. When my blood pressure was high that time at work, I felt a bit different than the other times. But I also realize that I can feel fine with my pressure being very high, so I don't always go by feelings.

I'm supposed to see my endo in March, so I'm going to see what his take is on all this.

Eva37 · 01-21-2006, 04:57 PM

hi

I was thinking of getting myself one of these ....................
Eva