I thought I would have a change from all the heavy stuff I have been writing about lately, and write about a little machine I bought about six months ago. The Omron MX3. It is a blood pressure monitor.
All my life my blood pressure has been wildly erratic. The highest measured blood pressure I recorded was 180/100. High yes, but I had just spent 12 minutes on a treadmill having a heart test. Anyway it was back to 140/80 within 5 minutes. They told me that was great.
Anyway when I go to the doctors it varies between 157/95 being the highest and 117/76 being the lowest. Generally though it is about 140/80-85 I have researched this a little and I have realised that your blood pressure can vary and change very rapidly. I have confirmed this by visits to the doctor and a medical friend of mine who uses a different machine to the one my doctor uses and also different to mine. I seem to have a range inside the two figures above.
I have a few medical friends and their opinion does vary but a few of them agree that it is best not to get one reading at a time, but three. Two of them have tried it on me and the first reading is always the highest and the last one always the lowest. I have also tried this myself and confirmed it. Apparently there is no ideal blood pressure either. It changes with age. Women’s blood pressure, generally being lower than men’s.
I have been told that the best way to do it, and there is no faultless way, is to take 100+ your age, in my case 46, so that would equal 146 (systolic), (Yes I know you can all add up) and the bottom reading (diastolic) should not be above 90. So my blood pressure should not be higher than 146/90.
Ok, so now we understand what it is. On to the machine. I bought mine from a Tescos pharmacy. It cost £49.99, and at the time I had not seen this model before. I had been looking around but they were all priced £80 or more.
Firstly I was impressed by its size. It’s about 5ins in width, by 4ins in length. The depth differs as it is slanted from about 2-1/2 at the back to about an inch at the front. It is battery powered and takes four AA batteries. The literature claims this is enough for about 300 readings and in fact I can confirm this, as mine has now done 334, with no sign of wear. It has a digital readout screen on the front measuring just over an inch square, and it is easy to read and the figures are large. Unlike some of the other machines I have seen it takes the reading from a cuff, (just like the doctors) which you affix to your arm above the elbow. The literature explains this and is very easy to understand. It has a Velcro fastener, which slides through a metal clasp. There is a rubber pipe, which is attached to the machine at one end and the cuff at the other. All you do is switch it on. There are two buttons. One power switch and one is the activator. You press the upper one (blue), wait a few seconds while it calibrates and then press the second one (grey), and voila it pumps the cuff up on your arm, and hey presto a few seconds later you have your blood pressure. It also gives you your pulse. The pulse and blood pressure alternatively flash on the screen.
I think it works a treat and is small enough to put into a bag. I could probably even fit it into my jacket pocket, at a squeeze The literature claims it is highly accurate and it does seem to match my doctor’s readings and my friends. So if you need to check your blood pressure on a regular basis then I would recommend it. One other thing is that people that visit me and see it out always want to have a go.
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Fully Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure MonitorMemory for 28 measurementsInflation ... more
technologySmall in sizeQuietSimple one-button useWrist cuff for wrist circumferences from13,5 to 19,5 cm2 year OMRON guaranteeDelivered with 2 batteries & storage box6-language packaging and instruction manual (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch)Size user friendly for traveling or office useAccessories for this product: - Optional Power supply for Blood Pressure Monitors - Large or Small Cuff
Oct 13th, 2003
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