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Blood Pressure Monitors

Digital Monitors Are Best There are two main types of blood pressure monitors; aneroid and digital. For home use digital monitors are the most popular because they are simple and convenient and most are reasonably priced. ! * Digital monitors are notorious for giving less accurate results when compared to aneroid monitors, the type most often used by health care professionals. Despite that, digital monitors are still the easiest to use and they are accurate enough for casual testing between doctor visits. ** The arm cuff inflates automatically without having to inflate it with a bulb. ** You don't have to listen with a stethoscope to the heart beats, so it's a great choice for those with hearing difficulties. ** Most can record results. ** The majority have an error function that lets you know if you should repeat the test. ** Some machines talk, which is useful for the visually impaired. * Wrist models, although convenient, are the least accurate and they are not recommended. Manual and automatic arm band models are very similar in design, except that the manual one uses a bulb for inflation. Automatic models are the most accurate of the two and typically outperform manual models, which is why automatic models are the most common for home use. * Digital monitors run on batteries, which means that they must be replaced frequently to keep the unit functioning properly.

How Can You Tell if It's Good?

The most important thing to consider when buying a blood pressure monitor is its '''accuracy, precision and consistency'''. Unfortunately, most blood pressure monitors are neither consistent nor precise, although they are usually fairly accurate. Since blood pressure can rise and lower dramatically from one hour to the next, and even from one minute to the next, even the best blood pressure monitors may seem to be of poor quality. Nonetheless, if you test consecutively three times in a row, you should find that a good monitor is able to give similar results each time. You may also want to bring the monitor to your doctor's office and cross check the results of your monitor versus a professional monitor. !

Shopping

There are three major blood pressure monitor manufacturers and some particular models offered be each. Also try Mark of Fitness.

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