Tell Me About Blood Pressure Machines
If you are looking to buy a blood pressure machine for home use, here is some information explaining the kinds of devices available. What you will find is that of the many different models available they break down into two different types – automatic blood pressure machines and aneroid (also called manual blood pressure machines) blood pressure machines. So lets take a look at the fundamental differences between the two.
If ease of use is a top priority for you then an automatic blood pressure machine is the way to go. When operating an automatic blood pressure machine all you need to do is wrap the cuff around your arm, just above the elbow, and press the ‘on’ button – and bingo, the rest is taken care of for you! The inflation and deflation of the cuff is 100% automatic and the reading is taken down and recorded automatically on a digital screen.
In addition to automatic blood pressure machines, you will also find semi-automatic blood pressure machines on the market. The main difference between a semi-automatic and an automatic device is that the cuff of a semi-automatic monitor will need to inflated by you via a hand pump rather than inflate automatically. Because the semi-automatic blood pressure machines are slightly more hands on they are a little popular than fully automatic machines, but a less expensive too.
The less popular option for home based blood pressure monitors is the aneroid blood pressure machines, they are more complicated to operate, so why use them? The reason is that aneroid blood pressure machines are very accurate, more so than automatic machines. Automatic monitors still give an ‘ok’ result but they don’t live up to the accuracy of an aneroid monitor.
The cuff of an aneroid blood pressure machine needs to be inflated manually in the same way as a semi-automatic blood pressure machine – with a hand pump. In the same stroke, you will listen to your heart for the first signs of it beating via a stethoscope. At the point that you hear your heart beat for the first time you write down the reading (this the upper reading) and also start manually deflating the cuff and the required speed of deflation.
Unlike an automatic blood pressure machine the aneroid monitors feature a dial based screen and not a handy digital screen. This means you have to look at the dial at just the right time to take an accurate result. As the cuff deflates you need to listen in for when you can no longer hear your heart beat and this is when you take your lower blood pressure reading.
The aneroid blood pressure machine is clearly more difficult to use, particularly if you have no one to help you at any given time. Although, as already said, the results are superior. As an extra note, aneroid monitors are sensitive devices that will need to be re-calibrated even after a very slight bump.
So the choice you are ultimately faced with is between the ease of use with readings that are not 100% accurate (automatic machines) or high accuracy with a more complicated procedure (aneroid monitors). As an extra option for those of you with arthritis or who have physical disabilities that would make it difficult to put a cuff on your upper arm there are automatic blood pressure machines that you can attach to your wrist or to one of your fingers. Which device is best for you will totally depend upon your needs.
For some more great advice about blood pressure monitors take a look at blood pressure machine guide.
