Best Blood Pressure Monitors

Top-rated cuffs and wrist blood pressure monitors

There are several different types of blood pressure devices. With most professional monitors, the flow of blood is temporarily stopped by an inflated cuff that is wrapped around the upper arm and that puts pressure on the main artery in the arm. Blood flow is then gradually restarted as the user slowly deflates the cuff. A stethoscope is used to listen for sounds, called Korotkoff sounds, that can be heard when the blood begins flowing again through the artery and that change in tone and volume while the cuff is deflated. 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 is durable, easy to read and doesn't require readjustment. Its simple mechanism works by gravity, giving consistent, accurate readings. Due to the potential hazards of mercury, it's not often recommended for home use, and even many hospitals and physicians' offices are switching over to aneroid or electronic monitoring as well. Aneroid blood pressure monitors have no liquid, but instead use metal that acts like a spring to measure blood pressure. These have round compass-like faces that are attached to a cuff and are also accompanied by a stethoscope.

Professional models are accurate and durable, but they're just 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. There are also blood pressure monitors that take pulse readings and measure blood pressure on inflation rather than deflation. Some monitors use technology that senses blood pressure values and provides personalized inflation with every reading, thereby minimizing discomfort and misreading due to improper cuff inflation.

We found the best reviews overall for A&D arm-cuff-style blood pressure monitors. The A&D Medical LifeSource Quick Response UA-787EJ (*Est. $70) is an updated version of the previous UA-787V model and the top pick among reviewers and owners alike. In addition to an AC adapter (instead of batteries), users and experts like how easy it is to put on the Easy-Fit Cuff which uses a semi-hard-shell construction and is two inches larger than most medium cuffs to accommodate more arm sizes. It will fit arms from nine to 17 inches in circumference. The UA-787EJ blood pressure monitor has a memory that can store the last 60 readings, plus an average reading feature (which averages all stored readings). A special feature precisely measures pressure for users with an irregular heartbeat, and the A&D UA-787EJ can also "rate" your blood pressure based on your height and weight.

Another A&D blood pressure monitor that gets a double-A grade from the British Hypertension Society (BHS) is the A&D 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 that it is easy to use. Other blood pressure monitors in the A&D Medical LifeSource UA-767 series include the basic A&D UA-767 (*Est. $55). This blood pressure monitor comes with a choice of three different 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 A&D 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 also includes the irregular heartbeat feature found in the UA-787EJ blood pressure monitor. Finally, the A&D UA-767PC (*Est. $220) includes a PC interface for telemonitoring (which transmits data over the phone to your doctor). All models are auto-inflating blood pressure monitors.

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

Several reviewers select the Omron HEM-790IT (*Est. $75) as a top pick and the most versatile for users with large arms (an upper arm circumference of 13 inches or more). It will fit arms from nine to 17 inches. Dual settings make it a good buy for multiple users. Reviewers find the HEM-790IT accurate and praise its extra features, including the ability to detect irregular heartbeats. Experts find the averaging function makes it's easy to detect and keep track of morning hypertension, a condition that is a risk factor for strokes and heart attacks. Also, home monitoring is enhanced with its ability to download data to a PC and health management software. Using the HEM-790IT's USB connection, you can see graphs and charts on your computer screen that show how your blood pressure is changing over time. (This model is known as the Omron M10-IT in European reviews.)

The Omron HEM-711AC (*Est. $55) and Omron HEM-712C (*Est. $45) arm-cuff blood pressure monitors are also highly regarded. Almost all reviewers praise them as accurate, quiet and easy to use. The biggest negative is a tight cuff fit (large and small cuffs are available separately). These blood pressure monitors use an Omron technology called IntelliSense, which automatically determines the correct amount of pressure to get accurate readings with a minimum of discomfort. The chief difference between the HEM-711AC and the HEM-712C is that the HEM-711AC has a 60-reading memory, while the 712C can only store 30 readings. The more expensive Omron blood pressure monitor includes an AC adapter, which the cheaper one offers as an accessory. One advantage of these two Omron blood pressure monitors is that they have relatively large displays.

Wrist blood-pressure monitors

If you prefer a wrist blood-pressure monitor, the Omron HEM-650 (*Est. $40) blood pressure monitor gets very good user reviews at Amazon.com and Epinions. In particular, it draws praise from owners who had difficulty in using blood pressure monitors with upper arm cuffs. Experts say that wrist models are not as accurate as upper-arm blood pressure monitors if not placed correctly -- a view echoed by some users. However, the Omron HEM-650 has a few features to help ensure accurate measurements. Those include an Advanced Positioning Sensor that confirms when the monitor is properly positioned. Another feature, IntelliSense, inflates the cuff to the best level for each measurement, and then deflates the cuff at the correct speed for shorter time periods between measurements. The Omron HEM-650 memory can store 90 readings. Additional features include irregular heartbeat detection and the ability to average readings. Reviewers note that it is imperative to have your arm elevated to heart level to ensure accurate readings with wrist monitors. (The Omron HEM-650 is known as the R6 in European reviews.)

Many supermarkets and drugstores offer free blood pressure monitors for public use. But these machines are used continually and can get seriously out of calibration, so the value of the readings taken using those is limited.