Medical technology has come a long way since the days of lugging ourselves down to the GPs office every time we felt it necessary. Today, it’s incredibly easy for us to monitor our blood pressure at home without any hiccups or hurdles.
What’s more, it’s an incredibly important thing to do, as a doctor’s reading only measures what is happening at that moment, and not what’s happening in the many hours that we are outside the doctor’s office.
Therefore, a home blood pressure monitor allows us to gauge our level whenever we want, meaning we can measure it several times a day and, therefore, receive a more accurate idea of how we’re tracking!
It’s vital that you stay on top of this imperative bodily metric, but that doesn’t mean it’s something that’s hard to do, as home kits are now easier to use than ever before.
If you are able to provide your doctor with these accurate recordings in between appointments, you will most likely receive more accurate advice on how to handle the situation, including what kind of medications and lifestyle changes can help.
You may experience a slight fluctuation in your daily blood pressure readings: this is totally normal as long as the figures continue to average around 120/08 mmHg. Therefore, practising this important health determination is a fantastic way to provide real-time feedback and motivate positive changes.
But, there are so many different machines for sale, and so you want to know that you are going to get the perfect one for your needs.
Follow these few tips to ensure that happens:
- Cuff size: Does the technology have the right cuff size for your arm? This is pivotal as it relates to the circumference of your upper arm and if you choose one that doesn’t fit properly you can only expect it to give the wrong reading.
Sizes generally are as follows:
Adult Small: Contains an arm circumference of 22 to 26 centimetres;
Adult Average: Contains an arm circumference of 27 to 34 centimetres, and:
Adult Large: Contains an arm circumference of 35 to 44 centimetres.This is truly the most important thing to look out for, as you don’t want to purchase a machine that either doesn’t fit around your arm at all or provides an inaccurate reading.
- Can you store past readings on it? The machine should – in this day and age – provide a storage history function that allows you to provide an ongoing record to your doctor with ease.
- Can I carry it around? Is the machine portable? If you find yourself regularly travelling then you might want a machine you can easily take around with you.
- Does it have extra capabilities? Certain machines can now monitor for an irregular heartbeat – something that could be very important for detecting other ailments or ailments related to your condition.
- Can the machine be linked to iOS/Android? Once again, you don’t want to find yourself with some ridiculously outdated machine – you want it to be cutting-edge for optimal usability! This means being easily able to link to an app on iOS or Android, providing a quick reference whenever you or your doctor needs it.
- Is it clinically-approved? The medical machine should be clinically approved and always provide accurate readings. You want to ensure that it is clinically-approved as this way you can tell that it provides an accurate reading.
- Is it easy to use? You don’t want to find yourself picking up a machine that is near-impossible to use – you want to ensure it’s a breeze! This is something you might find yourself doing a couple of times a day, so it’s best to ensure that the machine isn’t going to be difficult to use…
