BLOOD

REVIEW

PRESSURE

MONITORS

Elevated blood pressure or hypertension is nothing new, but the same cannot be
said for the machines we use to measure blood pressure. Every year, major
companies come out with better models toincrease the accuracy of
measurement, to offer new and innovative features, and of course, lower the
cost of the machines.
Lets see what the most popular meters on the markets have to offer
for 2014/2015.
We'll start off with the most innovative ones, the ones that get us most excited!

The Innovators
Meet the ROSSMAX MONITORING BPM AC701K

I'll admit it. This Swiss designed baby was the only blood pressure meter that got
me that excited this year. Armed with what they call "DK Technology", the meter
has a real functioning stethoscope in the cuffs!
DK refers to Digital Korotkoff. According to wikipedia,
Korotkoff sounds are blood flow sounds that healthcare providers observe while
taking blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer over the brachial artery in the
antecubital fossa. These sounds appear and disappear as the blood pressure
cuff is inflated and deflated.
Doctors measure the blood pressure of patients manually by listening to the
Korotkoff sounds.
Therefore, the meter uses both conventional oscillometry AND the digital
korotkoff sound to give you your money's worth of accuracy. To put it simply, it's
like going over your manual mathematical calculations again with a calculator.
The Rossmax AC701k also comes with a socket for optional linking to your PC, to
enable you to generate graphs and charts of your readings. Of course, it comes
with all the basic luxuries of irregular heartbeat detection, Blood pressure stage
indicator and so forth.
Priced reasonably, this has been a hit throughout the year.

The MICROLIFE AUTO BPM AFIB

(BP A200 AFIB)

Now this is another innovative model, where it's stand out point is something no
other meter can claim to do-- it detects AFIB (Atrial fibrilation), instead of just
giving you the "irregular" signal. Atrial fibrillation (AF) has strong associations
with other cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure, coronary artery
disease (CAD), valvular heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.
In addition, it is certified to be used by pregnant ladies, and the meter will not
falsely pick up and heartbeat of the fetus.

The build of the meter is by far the classiest, and it the comes with
Microlife's Preformed conical cuff. This type of cuff makes self measurement
much easier and comfortable.
This meter also comes with a PC link, and the only downside is the hefty price
tag. But then again, some would argue that for the features that it's offering, the
price is actually tantamount to it's VALUE!

Medisana blood pressure monitor with

Bluetooth BU 550 connect

This is one breakthrough meter in terms of technology. Not only does it connect
wirelessly to the Vitadock App that connects to your smartphone (iOS and
android), but it's arguably the only meter in Malaysia now that uses the new
"Inflation technology". This makes measuring blood pressure faster than the
conventional deflation models. Certified by the MDD and coupled with all the
features you'll expect to see in a blood pressure meter, you can be sure you're
getting the cutting edge in consumer blood pressure technology when you
purchase the BU550.

TERUMO EASY BEST-FIT CUFF ESP370

This model is Terumo's Mid range blood pressure meter. Far better in terms of
accuracy and comfort when compared to its budget model. The reason being it
has a "Best-fit cuff", which makes putting on the cuff a breeze, and "Automatic
optimum pressure" technology to ensure that no uncomfortable overinflation occurs. The meter also comes with a handy storage compartment for
the cuff. Manual inflation is also possible with this model, something less seen
in other blood pressure meters. Other basic frills like dual user memories, extra
large displays are of course there.

The Budget/Basic meters that stand

out.
Meet MEDISANA UPPER ARM BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR BU 510

This meter is the successor to the very successful Medisana MTS. The
difference is an added "set" button, and a fresher look. They maintained the
successful formula of squeezing an elephant into a fridge---meaning almost
everything you need will be in this compact body.
It has:

Systolic, Diastolic and pulse rate

2 sets of memories (with time and date)

Irregular heart beat indicator (impressive for the price it's being sold
at!)
WHO traffic light system for easy understanding of the readings

For it's price tag, it's quite hard to find any fault in this meter. We expect it to
continue the excellent path of it's predecessor.

The ROSSMAX
BPM AK101F

MONITORING

This new "baby" Rossmax uses the conventional ocsillometry method to

determine your pressure. Nothing too fancy about it, but it does come with a 5
year warranty in Malaysia! It's the only meter in its price bracket to offer this long
a warranty. On top of that, this Swiss design meter gives you a hypertension
indicator, which fascilitates the interpretation of the readings for the layman.

Small, compact and cheap. A good buy especially if you're one who values long
warranties.

The OMRON
BLOOD
MONITOR HEM-7121

PRESSURE

This little omron is probably the best valued Omron in its entire range. It has
the basic systolic, diastolic and pulse rate; it has irregular heartbeat detector, and
even a hypertension indicator (albeit one that is hard to understand). It also has
a cuff wrapping guide, which makes it not that much different from the "Ultra
premium" RM500 plus model of Omron. Therefore, if you're going to buy Omron,
this is probably the model to go for.

*Note: The cuff size is a tad small for all Omron ranges. Therefore if you are
one of the bigger sized homo sapiens, you may want to take special notice.

The MEDISANA
MONITOR

HGN

WRIST

BP

This wrist meter is another example of packing your wardrobe into a suitcase.
This little pocket dynamite packs in all the features you would expect on a more
expensive meter, into a tiny compartment that fits on your wrist, for a price

under RM200! It's much more convenient to use and carry about, mainly
because no cuffs and pipes are involved.
However, it measures pressure based on the veins on your wrist, therefore the
sensitivity may be slightly compromised if compared to the conventional upper
arm blood pressure meters. Having said that, it IS still MDD certified in Germany.

Medisana blood pressure monitor with Bluetooth BU 550 connect

Georgetown PharmacyRM318.00 MYR

MEDISANA HGN WRIST BP MONITOR

Georgetown PharmacyRM196.10 MYR

MEDISANA UPPER ARM BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR BU 510

Georgetown PharmacyRM159.00 MYR

MICROLIFE AUTO BPM AFIB (BP A200 AFIB)

Georgetown PharmacyRM486.50 MYR

MICROLIFE BP A2 BASIC (BP3GQ1-3P) FREE ADAPTOR

Georgetown PharmacyRM190.70 MYR
SALE

OMRON AUTOMATIC BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR HEM-7120

Georgetown PharmacyRM239.00 MYR RM148.80 MYR
SALE

OMRON AUTOMATIC BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR HEM-7322

Georgetown PharmacyRM588.00 MYR RM368.90 MYR

OMRON BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR HEM-7121

Georgetown PharmacyRM201.20 MYR

ROSSMAX MONITORING BPM AC701K

Georgetown PharmacyRM364.60 MYR

ROSSMAX MONITORING BPM AK101F

Georgetown PharmacyRM165.40 MYR

TERUMO EASY BEST-FIT CUFF DIGITAL BLOOD PRESSURE

MONITOR ES-P370
Georgetown PharmacyRM307.40 MYR