Best Blood Pressure Monitors

Top-rated cuffs and wrist blood pressure monitors

Blood pressure devices can take several different forms. With most professional monitors, blood flow is temporarily stopped when the cuff that is wrapped around the upper arm inflates. That puts pressure on the arm's main artery. As the cuff deflates, blood flow gradually restarts. A stethoscope is used to listen for sounds called Korotkoff sounds that change in tone and volume when the blood begins reflowing through the artery. Meanwhile, readings are displayed on a connected gauge.

For more than a century, the mercury gravity sphygmomanometer has been the gold standard for indirect measurement of blood pressure. It's durable, easy to read and doesn't require readjustment. The device's simple mechanism works by gravity, giving consistent, accurate readings. Because of the potential hazards of mercury, however, it isn't often recommended for home use, and even many hospitals and physicians' offices are switching over to aneroid or electronic monitoring. Aneroid blood pressure monitors have no liquid, instead using metal that acts like a spring to measure blood pressure. These units have round, compasslike faces that are attached to a cuff and are also accompanied by a stethoscope.

Professional models are accurate and durable, but they're not meant to be operated on your own -- you'd need another set of arms to do it yourself. Home blood pressure monitors are more compact than professional models, but even basic monitors can be accurate.

As you step up in price, you gain features such as memory to store 30 or more previous readings, average blood pressure reports, compensation for the effects of an irregular heartbeat, extra-large displays and voice-announced readings. Some monitors even take pulse readings and measure blood pressure on inflation rather than deflation. Others use technology that senses blood pressure values and provides personalized inflation with every reading, thereby minimizing discomfort and the potential for misreading due to improper cuff inflation.

According to reviews, the best blood pressure monitors are manufactured by Omron. The company has recently replaced most of its monitors with all-new models, however, and few have reviews. One highly rated blood pressure monitor that's still being manufactured is the Omron HEM-780 (*Est. $110). More than 1,000 reviews at Amazon.com award it an average 4 stars out of 5 from users, giving it good scores for accuracy, convenience and speed of testing. This blood pressure monitor receives a double-A rating from the British Hypertension Society (BHS).

The Omron blood pressure monitor's memory stores 200 readings -- 100 each for two users -- along with the dates and times the readings were taken. It also alerts the user if it detects an irregular heartbeat or a pattern of morning hypertension, and features two averaging modes: One takes three consecutive readings and reports the average for a more accurate measurement, and one reports morning and evening averages. The HEM-780 comes with the company's ComFit cuff, which is made of a stiffer material designed to be easier to put on without help. Owners say they like that the cuff fits a range of arm sizes (9 inches to 17 inches) and most say is easy to place. A few disagree, however, saying the cuff is difficult to tighten enough to get an accurate reading, particularly on small arms.

The A&D Medical LifeSource UA-787EJ (*Est. $60) is an updated version of the previous UA-787V model and receives positive reviews from users. Besides the AC adapter (instead of batteries), users and experts say they like how easy it is to put on the Easy-Fit Cuff, which uses a semi-hardshell construction and is 2 inches larger than most medium cuffs to accommodate arms from 9 inches to 17 inches in circumference. This blood pressure monitor has a memory that can store the last 60 readings, plus an average reading feature that averages all stored readings. A special feature precisely measures pressure for users with an irregular heartbeat, and the A&D UA-787EJ can also assess your blood pressure based on your height and weight.

Another A&D Medical unit that gets a double-A grade from the BHS is the LifeSource UA-767T (*Est. $120). This monitor adds voice announcements as well as a headphone jack for privacy. The American Foundation for the Blind's AccessWorld recommends it, noting its ease of use. Other blood pressure monitors in the A&D Medical LifeSource UA-767 series include the basic UA-767 (*Est. $55), which comes with a choice of three cuff lengths: 7.5 inches, 12 inches and 17 inches. (The letters VS, V or VL after the model number correspond to these lengths.) Although it has few features, the LifeSource UA-767 gets top ratings, including a double-A grade from the BHS. The UA-767 Plus (*Est. $60), also known as the UA-767PV, lacks the audible readout of the T monitor but is otherwise more feature-rich. It has a 30-reading memory that records blood pressure and pulse-rate information, can display average readings and includes the irregular heartbeat feature found in the UA-787EJ.

All these A&D blood pressure monitors work the same way but differ in features. If you don't need the monitor to remember past readings and you don't have an irregular heartbeat, the basic LifeSource UA-767 with your choice of cuff size might be fine. If you want a memory function and would like a cuff style that's a little easier to put on, the UA-787EJ costs about $15 more.

Wrist blood pressure monitors

If you prefer a wrist blood pressure monitor, we found the best reviews overall for the A&D Medical LifeSource UB-512 (*Est. $50). In tests, this unit outperformed other wrist monitors for accuracy, and users say its small size makes it easy to keep tabs on your blood pressure while on the go. Although most owners say the UB-512 is easier to use than an upper-arm cuff, a few find it tricky to get consistent readings. Experts say wrist models aren't as accurate as upper-arm blood pressure monitors if  they are not placed correctly -- a view echoed by some owners. This unit has a 60-entry memory and irregular heartbeat detection, and it can average morning and evening readings.

Another wrist monitor, the Omron BP652 (*Est. $60), gets very good user reviews at Amazon.com. One notable feature is the positioning sensor that helps with correct placement to ensure accurate readings. Although the sensor's a nice idea, not everyone finds it helpful; we read several complaints about the blood pressure monitor repeatedly starting and stopping because the sensor erroneously detected motion. The Omron BP652 can store 100 readings each for two users. Additional features include irregular heartbeat detection and the ability to average readings.