Home Blood Pressure monitor

[evadgib]

Hi All,

      

           Can anyone please recommend a  blood pressure monitor for use at home? There are dozens on Lazada so I thought i'd ask here first. I  need one because I have hypertension and each time I go to hospital my readings are sky high which I suspect might in part be due to the assault-course-come-rugby-scrum that I am exposed to upon arrival, along with being too tall for the apparatus there.

 

           Thanks

 

Edited August 19, 2016 by evadgib

[MikeyIdea]

I use an Omron, looks like the HEM-7130 but not sure. It does the job well. Blood pressure does fluctuate so don't expect the same readings a few times in a row, even talking affect readings actually. If your readings are sky-high then you probably do have hypertension

 

Good Luck

[lopburi3]

Both Omron and Microlife are good brands and have both.  The Omron has a much smaller cuff size.  The Microlife has a M-L 22-44 cm which is really a lot bigger than I need.  

 

Very good idea to take at home as 'white coat' hypertension is very real for many of us and treatment based on some hospital readings could cause issues at home without stress.  

[NancyL]

Be aware that if you take readings too close together, then the subsequent readings will usually be lower.  The directions with my machine say to wait at least 10 minutes before taking a new reading.  I have found that that it gives me peace-of-mind to take my machine with me into an appointment from time-to-time just to make sure it's "calibrated".

 

I agree that the readings they take when you first arrive for an appointment can be nearly worthless because you're still all fussed from dealing with travel, parking, the elevator queue, the outside heat, etc.  My cardiologist insists on taking a reading again after I've been siting quietly in his office for a time and he uses an old-fashioned machine, with mercury and he listens with his stethoscope.  Apparently, he had to get "special permission" to continue to use an instrument with mercury and it's kept in a locked cabinet when not in use because of concerns about what might happen to the mercury if it breaks.  He claims it's more accurate than the modern machines where the patient sticks their arm into the automated cuff and he wants to "hear the beat".  

[lopburi3]

Quote

Apparently, he had to get "special permission" to continue to use an instrument with mercury and it's kept in a locked cabinet when not in use because of concerns about what might happen to the mercury if it breaks.

I have never had any type of doctor use anything but mercury type at any hospital here in Bangkok - often RN will also use.  But they do tend to keep them off the desk when not in use.  

 

Remember they days when we played with mercury - pressing it into countless round balls with our fingers.   

[BKKdreaming]

How would you ever know if the blood pressure monitor is set up correctly , 

 

Quality control anymore is pretty bad these days on brand new items  ,  is there a real way to check them ?

[KittenKong]

I have one of these:

 

 

Seems to work OK and cost me about 50% more here than it would cost in the UK.

 

I have noticed that the machines at my clinic invariably give a much higher reading than my home machine, even after sitting down for 30 minutes or eating. In fact one of the machines there usually gives readings so high that they imply that I should be flat on my back in intensive care, which is patently nonsense.

 

Edited August 20, 2016 by KittenKong

[KhunBENQ]

Not much to add.

We have an Omron HEM 7211.

 I bought it at a specialized online shop but such types are available at major pharmacies or specialized shops.

[NancyL]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

I have never had any type of doctor use anything but mercury type at any hospital here in Bangkok - often RN will also use.  But they do tend to keep them off the desk when not in use.  

 

Remember they days when we played with mercury - pressing it into countless round balls with our fingers.   

Oh, I agree, the doctors at the gov't hospitals are still using the mercury-type instruments to take BP readings, but at the new Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai they treat the mercury instruments like they are emitting deadly radiation or something.  My doctor there recently retired as a professor at CMU and finds it rather amusing that he has to summon a nurse to bring his mercury instrument out of a locked cabinet each time he wants to take a reading and then she returns it after the appointment.  They don't trust him with the key and each time the cabinet is opened, it's recorded in a log.

[evadgib]

Thanks for your replies, I plan to monitor my BP regularly until my next appointment in the hope that I might be taken off or put back on 5mg instead of 10.

 

Re Mercury; Residents on retirement extns are equally concerned @ the introduction of annual chest xrays, especially if they've already had chemotherapy or other exposure to radiation but I guess that's another thread.

Edited August 20, 2016 by evadgib

[lopburi3]

There is no x-ray requirement for retirement extensions so not sure why you have made above comment.

[IMA_FARANG]

I had a manually pumped one in which you aqueezed a bub to raise the pressure and then let it deflate itself to resd your blood ptrssure.

Worked fine....cost much less than the automatic deigital reading mpdels.

I found out that after I came here to Thailand, and changed my diet, my blood pressure went from very high down to a normal range with time.

As Willie nelson said in a country song,

 

My doctors tole me to stiop drinking, and i gues that is probably true

But you know I've seen more old Drunks than I've seen old Doctors

So I think  I'll just have another brew.

 

 

[Don Mega]

I have an Omron HEM-7130-L which cost Bt2499 on lazada and comes with 22 to 44 cuff.

 

seems to work well.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Don Mega

[tutsiwarrior]

6 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Not much to add.

We have an Omron HEM 7211.

 I bought it at a specialized online shop but such types are available at major pharmacies or specialized shops.

 

 I've had one of these since 2011...unknown calibration issues aside, seems to work well...bought at the SOS clinic in Hanoi...

[evadgib]

7 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

There is no x-ray requirement for retirement extensions so not sure why you have made above comment.

The bloke sitting next to me yesterday had to have one and wasn't given a choice, nor were a couple I spoke to the day before who had just done same.

Edited August 20, 2016 by evadgib

[lopburi3]

Sitting where and are you sure this was for a normal retirement extension of stay and not for medical reasons?

[meatboy]

21 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I have one of these:

 

 

Seems to work OK and cost me about 50% more here than it would cost in the UK.

 

I have noticed that the machines at my clinic invariably give a much higher reading than my home machine, even after sitting down for 30 minutes or eating. In fact one of the machines there usually gives readings so high that they imply that I should be flat on my back in intensive care, which is patently nonsense.

 

having just spent 3days in hospital my BP readings were a joke,i have a monitor at home but its due for the nackers yard,so i am just about to order an omron hem-7130 from lazada.

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, meatboy said:

having just spent 3days in hospital my BP readings were a joke,i have a monitor at home but its due for the nackers yard,so i am just about to order an omron hem-7130 from lazada.

I check my BP every morning with my Omron and yesterday was my monthly follow up with my doctor. My BP reading at the hospital was same to the reading at home.

[NickJ]

The old fashioned way with the stethoscope gives a true reading. The machines fall out of calibration. It's best to buy a moderately priced home unit and never let kids play with it. The White coat syndrome does cause BP to rise.

I always ask the nurse to take mine with a stethoscope.  Most are happy to oblige. Some get snotty but oh well.

[gerryBScot]

Whatever you buy, the monitoring process is critical. Random measures taken at different times are simply that, a bit like cutting a frame from a reel of motion picture.

 

I suggest you take a reading everyday on waking up. It really is important to measure like with like, so first thing in the day is a good time, as most of us wake up around the same time most days. It doesn't matter if there is a time difference because what is important is that our hearts have been in resting mode because of sleep. It doesn't however always follow that resting mode means either low BP or heart rate. When I measure I take three measures in quick succession and average them. This process also highlights sometimes how there can be huge variation in readings taken at the same time. 

 

I put these averages into a spreadsheet and average them out on a monthly basis and now have a good backlog of data to compare month by month.

 

This will help you determine if you have hypertension in the first instance and if you do how effectively you are managing it. It has also really helped me to identify the effect of feeling stressed on my blood pressure. Not surprisingly it rockets. Good to know because the solution for periodic spikes is not necessarily more meds but learning how to manage stress.

Edited August 21, 2016 by gerryBScot

[evadgib]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Sitting where and are you sure this was for a normal retirement extension of stay and not for medical reasons?

We were in a Govt Hospital and yes I'm absolutely certain as he showed me the paperwork. 

[lopburi3]

I am asking where (what immigration office) - but now you say it was at a hospital rather than an immigration office so even more suspect.

 

Are you sure this is not a first retirement extension of stay and a normal work permit type medical form that hospital has decided requires them to use x-ray rather than just normal physical/interview exam?

Edited August 21, 2016 by lopburi3

[evadgib]

Further details are posted on the appropriate page(s).

 

HTH

[billd766]

3 hours ago, gerryBScot said:

Whatever you buy, the monitoring process is critical. Random measures taken at different times are simply that, a bit like cutting a frame from a reel of motion picture.

 

I suggest you take a reading everyday on waking up. It really is important to measure like with like, so first thing in the day is a good time, as most of us wake up around the same time most days. It doesn't matter if there is a time difference because what is important is that our hearts have been in resting mode because of sleep. It doesn't however always follow that resting mode means either low BP or heart rate. When I measure I take three measures in quick succession and average them. This process also highlights sometimes how there can be huge variation in readings taken at the same time. 

 

I put these averages into a spreadsheet and average them out on a monthly basis and now have a good backlog of data to compare month by month.

 

This will help you determine if you have hypertension in the first instance and if you do how effectively you are managing it. It has also really helped me to identify the effect of feeling stressed on my blood pressure. Not surprisingly it rockets. Good to know because the solution for periodic spikes is not necessarily more meds but learning how to manage stress.

 

I use a Microlife BP 3AP1-3E and when I come in from cutting the grass or exercise in the morning and take 5 readings in succession then use the middle reading, Then I do the same about an hour later when I have relaxed.

 

This is my second Microlife and if I am around long enough to replace it I will go for an Omron next time.

 

I the local government hospital and in the clinics they use a BP tester large enough to put my arm through and the results are similar to my Microlife.

[ravip]

Why is the BP high taken just after waking up in the morning? Any particular reason? 

 

[meatboy]

9 hours ago, ravip said:

Why is the BP high taken just after waking up in the morning? Any particular reason? 

 

it could be toooooooooooooooo many wet dreams.

[BKKdreaming]

is there something USB that you could plug in your computer ?

 

even if the machine part needed to be plugged in the wall , the computer USB could collect and chart the data and tell the machine to "pump" up the air  and hold it for so many seconds.....

 

something that is sitting next to your computer might get used more often , plus you could have your computer set to "nag" you  

[billd766]

13 hours ago, ravip said:

Why is the BP high taken just after waking up in the morning? Any particular reason? 

 

 

Normally I think it is because you have been lying down at rest so you will see a normal BP result.

 

For example if you spend 30 minutes exercising, your Systolic reading (when the heart is pumping). Diastolic (in between the heartbeats) and your BP will all be high.

 

If you rest for say 30 minutes the 3 readings should be much lower. There are many websites that explain this online and you can download a chart for the average male of your age and weight. If, like a lot of people, you do little or no exercise and get fat your heart has to work much harder which in turn raises your BP + the Sys and Dia readings.

 

10 years ago, I was overweight, having problems walking any distance and climbing stairs, breathing heavily and sweating a lot, so I went to a hospital in Bangladesh where I was working at the time and was diagnosed as having a partly blocked artery. As I was due on a visa run anyway I finished my task and told my manager of my problem and that I had no idea when I could return.

 

I came back to Thailand and went to the BKK International hospital on Monday afternoon. I was taken in and operated on Tuesday morning first thing when they found 2 and not 1 part blocked arteries and I was given a coronary angioplasty – or PCI  https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/treatments/coronary-angioplasty-and-stents

 and was discharged next morning with a severe warning from the doctor to change my habits, eat properly, exercise and lose weight.

 

Fast forward 10 years. I am now 72, still overweight but not as much, I do exercise 4 or 5 days a week cutting down the scrub and grass on 4 rai for an hour or so in the early mornings and the other mornings I try to exercise on my epicyclic machine.

 

I am also on 4 pills a day for my heart problem including Warfarin which is a blood thinner which in turn affects my BP hence the BP testing every day.

[sandyf]

I have a Microlife BP 3BM1-4D, seems to do the job. One of the features is you can have single or triple reading. On the triple it takes 3 consecutive readings and displays the average. Also has arrhythmia detection, keep hoping not to see that on the display.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, sandyf said:

I have a Microlife BP 3BM1-4D, seems to do the job. One of the features is you can have single or triple reading. On the triple it takes 3 consecutive readings and displays the average. Also has arrhythmia detection, keep hoping not to see that on the display.

 

I have had arrhythmia for years and it doesn't seem to make much difference to me.

 

There is some interesting information about it here.

 

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Arrhythmia/Arrhythmia_UCM_002013_SubHomePage.jsp