Withings for me.
I went for a unit with an external power supply.
The medical grade LPS was a no brainer. ![]()
Just checked and mine is branded Lloyds Pharmacy, made by Andon Health Company. It has two memories holding 60 readings, but I never bother because I forget to clear! When I first got it I took it to GP surgery to compare my reading with theirs - pretty similar, though my readings at home always seem to be about 5 units lower. It must be at least 10 years old now, and that hasnāt changed. I donāt use rechargeable batteries as it works better on 1.5v than 1.2v, but they last yonks.
I have been using Omron measures for thirty years, never had problems
Mine is from Boots and looks identical to the pictures posted of Omron. It has a memory.
Thanks again chaps, Omron it is.
Maybe slightly to one side, but I have been through similar needs, I now use an apple watch 11, direct instant readout not possible at the moment due to a legal dispute, but it will learn you BP over a period and warn to be checked if abnormalities are detected. It also has skin temperature, blood oxygen, ECG arrhythmia warnings too, interesting times. I know a cardiologist in the USA through work whose watch flagged him for arrhythmia, got checked and was found to have a heart problem.
So a bit off topic maybe but good luck, I do get my BP checked in the traditional way regularly too, my German GP here always asks the practice nurse to take it as they only have the old school mercury glass thing with the rubber bulb inflating thing which many medics say is the most accurate. ![]()
Martin
I have an 11 also, as I understand it doesnāt actually measure or detect hypertension but detects other symptoms that might contribute to it and as you say measures and compares over a period of time, I certainly wouldnāt rely on it if I had BP issues.
Yes it canāt measure blood pressure at all, but certainly devices like the Apple Watch can monitor for other other things like heartbeat and breathing rat, detecting arrhythmia and sleep apnoea, and worn of significant chang. IIRC they may also be able to monitor blood oxygen levels, which though not absolute could warn of any significant changes.
Another vote for Omron BP machines, the only point that I would add is to check the size of the arm band as they are not all the same size, if you have upper arms that have good muscle development or are fat and flabby a standard arm band may not fit, we had to buy a second machine with an extra large band to get round the problem.
Agreed, and thanks for the input, but I am aware of the legal dispute though work circles, from Toms Guide, quite reliable I find:
āAppleās hypertension notifications use data from the heart sensor to analyze how a userās blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart. The algorithm works in the background, reviewing data over 30-day periods, and will notify users if it detects consistent signs of hypertensionā
You are right though, its not a direct measurement, but I think this will come
Cheers
Martin
Google Hilo Band ⦠wearable blood pressure monitor
Iāve had 3 Withings and Iām not sure Iād get another.
The original which connected to iPhone via the pre-lightning 30 pin connector was good for a year or so, then out of the blue it failed to inflate the cuff.
The second was an early Bluetooth model but it was dire in terms of losing connectivity and failed readings for no apparent reason.
The 3rd (where have I put it!) seemed a bit better but I donāt think I ever really wanted to use it much due to previous device reliability.
Probably just been unlucky, but got both a Lloyds pharmacy and an Omron for a fraction of the cost.
Used to have quite a few Withings devices - the original connected weighing scales are still going strong.
Another issue I had with Withings (not unique to them) was redesigns of apps which seemed to get worse and less intuitive as time went on.
I still keep an eye on their products and think they are fundamentally a good company but probably find it hard to compete with the bigger players these days.
The āholy grailā features many people are desperate to have of course are non-invasive glucose monitoring and accurate round the clock BP measurements.
A little disappointed the new hypertension feature detects the possibility rather than providing measurements (even if fairly rough) but being hypertensive Iām not the target market, and the feature is potentially highly important in prompting people who do not get or are not eligible for regular health checks to take such alerts seriously and have more formal evaluations for something theyād otherwise be oblivious to.
Cuff/arm size is very important.
Iāve been using the Withings model posted above for over 3 years with no issues.
I donāt have to physically connect the Withings to any device or manually record measurements. All done through WiFi & BT.
I email my doctor a monthās of readings prior to a visit.
Iām a bit of a techy and like what the Withings offers. Compact too. The Withings came with a travel case.
The Withings BPM Connect is medically approved. It has received FDA clearance and CE marking as a medical device. Its performance has been validated through clinical trials, meeting internationally recognized standards such as those developed by the European Society of Hypertension and the British Hypertension Society. It fulfills the accuracy validation criteria of the AAMI/ESH/ISO Universal Standard (ISO 81060ā2:2018) for blood pressure measurement in the general population. Additionally, the device has been clinically validated for use in special populations like pregnant women and pre-eclampsia patients, making it reliable for home blood pressure monitoring.
As a GP I have found the Omron BP machines as accurate as my much more expensive Welch Allyn work BP machine.
I find the best way to get a good picture of your home BP is to do 3 recordings about a minute apart in the morning before taking any medications. It is best to be sitting about 5 minutes before taking the recordings with the arm resting on the table. Do it for the 3 days prior to seeing your GP so you arrive with 9 recordings. That gives a good standardised BP picture. I find if people take their BP haphazardly throughout the day the BP recordings are all over the place as our BP varies a lot throughout the day, and the adrenaline rush after a high BP recording keeps the BP artificially high.
Glad yours has worked well, Iām also (well used to be) a bit techy and an early adopter so had the original Withings cable āconnectedā and 2 subsequent ones which connect via BT.
The first was fine until it failed to inflate. The second had major inflation and BT issues. Quite why I bought a 3rd Iām not sure, maybe it was on offer. For whatever reason I really didnāt get on with it but your post will prompt me to try to find it!
I had confidence in the 30 pin āconnectedā 1st one but it failed far too soon.
No issues with non-āSmartā BP monitors which just seem to go on and on.
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