By Andrew Liszewski
Even though the cartoons make high blood pressure look like fun with all the steam blasting out of your ears and the pitch-red face, it turns out it can actually be bad for those of us who aren’t animated. So checking your BP on a regular basis is kind of important. The Omron HEM-650 allows you to do that from the comfort of your own home without a doctor, and has a couple of handy features to help make sure you’re doing it right.
First, it uses the company’s patented ‘Intellisense’ technology to automatically inflate the wrist cuff to the ideal level. Even though inflating it to the point where you cut off circulation might seem like fun, it’s apparently not the best way to do it. And because the HEM-650 uses a wrist cuff, it’s better suited for people with larger, python-like arms like yours truly. (They’re a blessing and a curse.) Another important factor in getting an accurate blood pressure reading from a wrist monitor is to ensure the cuff is at the same level as your heart. So the HEM-650 has an ‘Advanced Positioning Sensor’ that automatically confirms when the monitor has been placed at the correct level. I’m actually kind of interested how it knows it’s at the right level, but I guess that’s probably a trade secret.
You can find the Omron HEM-650 at Amazon for $61.03.
[ Omron HEM-650 Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]
“Another important factor in getting an accurate blood pressure reading from a wrist monitor is to ensure the cuff is at the same level as your heart.”
Yes this is very important. Most people get inaccurate results and blame the equipment.