As our buying guide video above explains, there are two types of blood pressure monitors: those with a cuff on your upper arm, or those with a cuff on the wrist. But what's the difference between the two? Morillo, Carlos A et al. “Atrial fibrillation: the current epidemic.” Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC vol. 14,3 (2017): 195-203. The ability to store readings can be useful if you have more than one person with hypertension in your household or want to pool your money for a model with fancier features, rather than have two basic monitors.

The Omron M7 Intelli IT can take three consecutive blood pressure measurements at 30 second intervals, then displays the average to give you a realistic indication of your morning and evening blood pressure over time Avoid eating, drinking alcohol, smoking, exercising, and bathing for 30 minutes and rest for 15 before starting the measurement. Avoid taking a measurement during stressful times. Take the measurement in a quiet place. Featuring arrhythmia detection, movement sensor and two user memory (accessible via a convenient switch) and supplied with a standard 22cm to 42cm cuff, the M6 Comfort offers outstanding value and versatility. You’ll feel the cuff inflate quite rapidly. It may temporarily be a bit tender or uncomfortable for, as the cuff inflates and deflates automatically, but this will only be for a short period of time. If it is too tender/uncomfortable you can just press the ‘Stop’ button and the cuff will instantly deflate. Topouchian J. et al. Clinical accuracy of the Omron M3 Comfort and the Omron Evolv for self-blood pressure measurements in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia - validation according to the Universal Standard Protocol. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2018 Aug 31;14:189-197.A brief note stating that your machine requires servicing & explaining the issues you are having with obtaining readings, if any. Omron’s unique Intelli Wrap Cuff takes away the hassle of cuff placement on the upper arm – giving accurate blood pressure measurements in any position around the upper arm Doctors, physician assistants, nurses and other healthcare professionals recommend home blood pressure monitoring for various reasons, including the ability to: It is important to ensure the arm cuff you are using with your monitor is the correct size for you. If the incorrect cuff is used the result may be an inaccurate reading and/or the cuff will be damaged (air bladder). Some blood pressure monitors have a data averaging function – this usually means the machine will average the last three or so readings for you. There are variations on this – for example, showing data on a graph rather than, or as well as, numerically or averaging data over a longer period.

Place the cuff over your upper arm and tighten the cuff over your arm, making sure you can fit two fingers underneath the cuff. You want the cuff to be over the upper part of your arm with the tubing leading down the centre or slightly to the right of your arm. But if you're good at monitoring this yourself, you might not want to pay extra for fancier features to keep an eye on whether your blood pressure is within recommended limits. Omron company has combined all the latest innovations and technologies in the sphere of blood pressure monitors development in one device. The M7 Intelli IT with upper arm cuff has a number of advantages over the rivals that considerably simplify its use.Paying more for a blood pressure monitor often means you'll be treated to a wider range of features. Many 'premium' models can memorise your readings, date and time-stamp your readings or link wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet. To begin with, this machine is fully automatic, meaning that maintenance will be simple and fast. The cuff wrap guide will inform you if it is put on incorrectly. Plus, the measurement zone wraps 360 degrees around the upper arm for precise results from any position. However, because of the hard inserts, the cuff may not fit a very thin arm. It's a shame but those inserts are essential to the device's precision measurements. Discover which retailers are trusted by Which? members with our expert guide on the best and worst shops. Blood pressure monitors in the Which? test lab