How We Rated The Blood Pressure Monitors
4.8 to 5 stars: These are the best blood pressure monitors we tested. We recommend them without reservation.
4.5 to 4.7 stars: These blood pressure monitors are excellentthey might have minor flaws, but we still recommend them.
4.0 to 4.5 stars: We think these are great blood pressure monitors, but others are better.
3.5 to 3.9 stars: These blood pressure monitors are just average.
3.4 and below: We don’t recommend blood pressure monitors with this rating you won’t find any on our list.
Verywell Health / Nick Kova
Who This Is For
Nearly half of Americans have high blood pressure , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High blood pressure forces your heart to work harder, putting a burden on the rest of your body. A home blood pressure monitor is not a diagnostic device, but a tool to help you keep track of your blood pressure between checkups.
The American Heart Association defines hypertension as having either a systolic reading over 130, or a diastolic reading over 80 mm Hg for adults over the age of 20, and prehypertension as 120/80 mm Hg or above. These numbers refer to the pressure of blood against your blood-vessel walls. The first number is the systolic pressure, measured when the heart beats the second number is the diastolic pressure, measured when the heart rests between beats.
The American Heart Association and many doctors recommend a blood pressure monitor for home use to help people with high blood pressure manage the condition. The daily use of a monitor can help a person track their blood pressure and prompt them to seek emergency care. At-home monitoring is also useful for patients who experience white coat syndrome, where the stress of visiting the doctors office causes blood pressure to spike. Still, keep in mind that home monitoring is meant to accompanynot replaceregular monitoring by a physician.
How Exact Are At
While automatic, digital blood pressure monitors are known for being fairly accurate, there are a few factors to pay attention to in order to ensure your readings are as accurate as possible. The American Heart Association recommends not smoking, drinking caffeinated beverages or exercising at least 30 minutes before taking a blood pressure reading. Using an arm cuff that fits you properly is also important, as a cuff thats too small can artificially raise your blood pressure readings.
Maintaining a relaxed composure and good posture can also help when taking a blood pressure reading, as can ensuring youve used the bathroom recently. Additionally, the American Heart Association notes that some fluctuation in blood pressure readings is normal.
Read Also: What Are The Types Of Blood
Best Blood Pressure Monitors Buyers Guide
Reviewed by health expert Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE
If you’re one of the 116 million Americans with high blood pressure or hypertension, twice-daily blood pressure readings can clue you in to trends over timedata that could help you prevent complications like a heart attack or stroke.1,2
To make sure we recommended a sensitive, accurate, and easy-to-use blood pressure monitor, we educated ourselves about blood pressure measurement technology, read hundreds of user reviews across the web, and talked with our very own nurse advisor, Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE. Our verdict: the best blood pressure monitor for at-home use is the Omron Platinum.
Like all of the blood pressure monitors on our list, the Omron Platinum is clinically accurate and offers easy-to-understand results. But its stand-out feature is unlimited storage through a mobile app. Other monitors store around 100 readings, which makes it less convenient for you to track long-term trends.
Find other blood pressure monitors with expanded cuff sizes or lower price points in our full list below.
New Acc/aha Blood Pressure Guidelines: Check
Its been over a year since the new blood pressure guidelines were released and 103 million Americans were recategorized with high blood pressure. Thats nearly 1 in 2 of us. How are YOU doing?
| blood pressure |
|---|
| HIGHER THAN 120 |
You May Like: Low Alk Phos Blood Test
Why You Should Trust Us
To learn what makes a reliable home blood pressure monitor, we interviewed three physicians with years of clinical experience in blood pressure management: Daichi Shimbo, a cardiologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation Samuel Mann, an internal medicine specialist at the Weill Cornell Medicine Hypertension Center and Veronica Gillispie-Bell, an obstetrician-gynecologist and the director of quality for womens services at Ochsner Health in Louisiana. We also combed through literature from the American Heart Association, among other medical organizations, and read hundreds of customer reviews.
Life Source: Best Cuff Size Options
It’s important to make sure that the cuff will fit snugly around the upper arm without you having to pull really hard to get it around. It also shouldn’t be so loose that the velcro overlaps or the cuff is obviously not on snugly.
“You want to be able to get a finger between the cuff without feeling like the finger is going numb, but not have it so loose that you didn’t have to work at all to get the finger in that space.
“When cuffs are too tight it often gives a higher-than-actual blood pressure because it constricts the blood vessels. If the cuffs are too loose, the blood pressure will be lower than it actually is as we aren’t really hearing the sounds adequately.
Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE
Improved accuracy for larger arms
We like the Life Source extra large cuff because it fits arms that are too big for every other BP monitor on our list . This is great for people with particularly muscular builds because they dont have to settle for less accurate readings from a wrist blood pressure monitor or finger-type blood pressure monitor.
Stores fewer readings than other BPMs
One big miss on this blood pressure monitor is the memory storage. It stores only up to 60 readings, which is average compared to other monitors on the market. While this is acceptable on cheaper devices, its not great on a single-user device that costs over $100.
Ultimately, we think this is an excellent option if you dont fit the average arm circumference of most people.
Read Also: Blood In Urine From Uti
The 8 Best Blood Pressure Monitors Of 2022 For Home Use
The Omron Upper Arm Gold Monitor gives quick and accurate measurements
Ashleigh is the director of commerce for the Health Group at Dotdash Meredith where she oversees health, fitness, family, and mind content. She has covered the health and wellness space through a variety of lifestyle lenses for more than 10 years. She is also a certified barre instructor teaching at a boutique studio.
We independently research, test, review, and recommend the bestproducts. Healthcare professionals review articles for medical accuracy. Learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
Verywell Health / Nick Kova
Blood pressure monitors are an excellent at-home solution for staying on top of your health, especially if you have an underlying condition that requires regular blood pressure readings. We found that the best monitors offer accurate readings, are easy to use, and aren’t complicated to fit around your arm.
Blood Pressure Monitors At Walgreens
If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension, it’s important that you keep tabs on your blood pressure readings. Your doctor will likely advise you to check your blood pressure at home, using a blood pressure monitor. Walgreens can help you follow your doctor’s instructions. We carry a large selection of manual and automatic blood pressure monitors for home use. You can explore the product assortment online and make a purchase, or visit your local Walgreens store to find a monitor for you.
You May Like: How To Lower Blood Sugar And Cholesterol
Use Care And Maintenance
For the most accurate blood pressure readings, you need to test consistently using a properly fitting cuff. It should be snug but not tight according to our physician sources, a poorly fitting cuff can distort your reading. Many blood pressure monitors come with cuffs of different sizes, so choose the one that fits the circumference of your arm.
Its also important to test under controlled conditions, ideally around the same time each day. Sit upright with your back supported and both feet on the floor. Dont cross your legs. Ideally, before taking a reading, you should keep the cuff on the arm for five minutes without moving or talking.
When you unpack a monitor, you generally have to insert the batteries and connect the cuff to the monitor. If you dont use batteries, youll need an AC adapter only some models come with one .
Avoid pulling on the tube, dropping the monitor, or banging it around. These devices arent fragile, but they are calibrated machines that can get out of whack. Inside each cuff is a bladder that inflates and deflates to take your blood pressure. If the bladder is punctured or doesnt work, you need to replace the cuff. The Velcro holding the cuff together will wear over time, so when it no longer maintains a good hold, you should replace it, even if the bladder is fine. If the cuff is slipping off of your arm, it is not a good fit, said Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, the ob-gyn.
How To Use A Blood Pressure Monitor
Take an accurate in-home blood pressure reading using digital blood pressure monitors by following the steps below:
Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE
Read Also: Can You Calculate A1c From Average Blood Sugar
Top 5 Best Blood Pressure Monitors
Clinically accurate
The Omron Platinum Bluetooth blood pressure monitor is also very accurate because it uses advanced averaging and TruRead technology. Advanced averaging gives an average result of your last three consecutive tests for more consistent results. TrueRead takes advanced averaging a step further by performing all three pressure readings during the same session. Its not as fast as a regular test but helps provide precise results.
Useful Alexa skill
Yep, we were thinking the same thing: “Why would I want an Alexa-compatible blood pressure monitor?” It turns out that Alexa’s pretty good at math, and you can ask her a ton of questions about your blood pressure after buying a compatible BPM from Omron enabling the free Omron Health skill.
Here are just a few things you can ask:6
- “Alexa, what was my blood pressure average this month?”
- “Alexa, compare this month’s blood pressure readings to last month’s readings.”
- “Alexa, how many blood pressure readings were stage one this month?”
- “Alexa, what are the guidelines for taking a blood pressure reading?”
Don’t have an Alexa-enabled smart hub? Check out to get started.
If you want a cheaper unit from Omron, check out the Omron Silver, one of the highest-rated blood pressure monitors on the market. It isnt as accurate as the Omron Platinum, but it has a more comfortable cuff and still uses advanced averaging.
What About Data Privacy And Security
For most home blood pressure monitors, including our two Bluetooth picks, the companion apps and software arent subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act rules. This means that the data they collect isnt legally protected, nor is its use regulated in the same way as other health data .
Greater Goods and Omron, the makers of our picks, require you to create an online account in order to use their monitors wireless data-transfer capabilities. Doing so means providing the respective companies with personal details like your name, date of birth, email address, and more. Keep in mind that if you choose to send your data from the appwhether Greater Goodss Balance Health or Omron Connectto another service, such as Apple Health, youre relying on yet another entity to keep your data secure.
According to the Omron Connect apps privacy policy, Omron can share de-identified information with researchers and other third parties, and may disclose any information related to your account or use of its blood pressure monitor with law enforcement authorities in response to a court order or a subpoena. Similarly, Greater Goodss privacy policy notes that it does not share your info with researchers or other third parties, but may release account and other personal information when … appropriate to comply with the law.
Recommended Reading: Surgery To Remove Blood Clot In Leg
Best With Talking Feature: A& d Premier Talking Blood Pressure Monitor
The A& D Premier Talking Blood Pressure Monitor is another great option for visually impaired users. This blood pressure monitor features an audio setting that reads out instructions, results, and a brief data analysis in English, Spanish, or French.
Our testers said that the setup for this device was simple, and the cuff fits nicely and can accommodate upper arms with a diameter between 9 and 14.6 inches. The talking function activates at the push of the start button, and guides the user throughout the process while also displaying the results on the devices screen.
The monitors screen isnt well lit, so it might be hard to see results in darker settings. That being said, it overcompensates for this through its talking feature, so youll be able to get your results regardless. The devices perfect five out of five scores in every attribute resulted in a five out of five overall value score.
Average Standard Deviations
Price at time of publish: $81
Verywell Health / Nick Kova
Power Source: Batteries or AC adapter | Maximum Readings Stored on Device: 90 | Number of Users It Can Store Data For: 1 | Weight: .66 lbs
What Is Cvs Healthhub On 2324 Us Highway 17 In Richmond Hill Ga
A new health care experience at select CVS Pharmacy locations, CVS HealthHUB is staffed with a team of care professionals. HealthHUB locations offer a wide array of health care services, a pharmacy and an expanded selection of wellness and health products, plus a care concierge to help you every step of the way.
Also Check: What Happens When Your Blood Pressure Is Too High
What Our Testers Say
This device was straightforward to set up and use, and I like that it automatically stored all of my measurements, and averaged them out for me. The display size is large and easy to read, and it has a clock on it, so I could easily space out measurements. Nicole Kwan, Verywell Health Editorial Director and product tester
How We Reviewed Blood Pressure Monitors
We started our evaluation by looking over prices, user reviews, and doctor recommendations. Here are some things we considered when selecting blood pressure monitors for our list:
- Simple interface: A user-friendly interface with large numbers and big buttons makes it easier to navigate the blood pressure monitor and understand the results.
- Multiple users: A multiple-user feature tracks more than one persons blood pressure, so you can share the monitor with family members and skip the hassle of buying multiple devices.
- Accurate readings: Accuracy is one of the most important things to look for in a blood pressure monitor. We chose only upper arm monitors for our list because they tend to have the best accuracy. Learn more about the different types of blood pressure monitors.
- Memory storage: With high memory storage, you can log your blood pressure readings multiple times a day and over a long period to give your doctor a better picture of your health.
- Advisor recommendations: We asked Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE, health expert, and educator, to review our selection and suggest one of her own.
Learn about how we rank products by checking out our full methodology.
Don’t Miss: 3.6 White Blood Cell Count
Best Fit: Welch Allyn Home Blood Pressure Monitor 1700 Series With Surebp Technology
-
Ready to use out of box
-
Connected app is easy to navigate
-
No carrying case included
We loved the fit of this monitors cuff, which holds its cylindrical shape at all times and makes it easy to fit properly onto your arm. This makes it great for those with limited mobility and keeps setup quick and fuss-free.
The connected app is another great feature of this device: it stores multiple readings, indicates irregularity in readings, and is easy to connect to quickly. Data taken on the monitor uploads immediately to the app, so you get real-time feedback as you take your measurements.
While the monitor itself is lightweight, it doesnt come with a carrying case which might make it harder to travel with when needed. Because of this aspect, we gave this device a three out of five for portability and a four out of five for overall value.
Average Standard Deviations
Price at time of publish: $152
Verywell Health / Nick Kova
Power Source: Batteries or AC adapter | Maximum Readings Stored on Device: 99 | Number of Users It Can Store Data For: 1 | Weight: 1.2 lbs