Omron 7 Series Wireless Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor, Black

Omron 7 series wrist blood pressure monitor.Summary:I feel it is an excellent instrument and works very well, provided one follows all necessary steps, see them itemized below.(though arm monitor might be more strait forward to use, but would require a short sleeve clothes):1. All the instructions provided.2. The cuff is tight but you can still squeeze your index finger under it.3. Your elbow is resting on a hard surface, so vibrations from your heart are not dampened by a soft pillow under your elbow.4. If you do everything right, and it will report 2 or more consecutive measurements that are not the same, it is likely due to the fact that your blood pressure actually changed. Note: manufacturer specifies +/- 2 counts of accuracy, and I believe it. This guarantees that if your BP is the same, you should not get a variation more than 4 counts. Note: not all monitors have such specification.5. My blood pressure improved enough from eating food that is not salted or is salted extremely lightly, that I did not need medication. And my medication had proved very detrimental to my health, so this was not a small accomplishment for me.Details:My objective was to buy a RELIABLE blood pressure measuring instrument that was EASY TO USE, so I can make measurements at will (hense a wrist monitor, instead of an arm monitor), and use it to give me feedback from foods I eat to blood pressure that results from eating those foods.Note: I already had a no name (not certified, like omron) wrist blood pressure monitor that worked well for me for some time. But now the old monitor was not being consistent, so I was looking for one I could trust. To qualify "working well", it means: when I just bought it, I made several measurements in a row, and they were all consistent. I then exercised, and repeated the measurements, and those were elevated, as I expected them to be.Before making the measurementI read all the directions and followed them. At least I am under such an impression. I am writing this review to possibly help the community. But some significant time has passed, and I am doing it from memory. And I don't want to re-read directions to verify if I indeed followed all of them. But from memory, I did. I specifically remember wanting to follow the directions and reading them.However, I was not getting very consistent results.I called the manufacturer's help number to see if they could help me find a fault with my technique, before returning the monitor.The fellow on the phone indeed had helped me. With his help I discovered1. One thing that was locking in my technique.2. One thing that was helpful for consistency.1.The thing that was locking in my technique was that the elbow is supposed to rest on a hard surface. This is because the instrument is trying to detect vibration from your heart, as you heart is doing it's job. Those vibrations are faint, and can not be muffled by something soft under your elbow.!!!!!!I wish that Omron would have explained this clearly in the instructions.!!!!!!I think Omron does say that the instrument is oscillometric, which means it works based on heart vibration (which definition I initially did not know). But I believe they stop there. And for me, it was not clear that it means I need to keep my elbow on a hard surface to allow vibrations to propagate better.2.The thing that was helpful was how to tighten the cuff so it is not too loose or too tight, which is an absolute prerequisite for a successful measurement. Namely it should be really tight, but I should still be able to jam my index finger under the cuff, but not too easily.After I followed all the directions, including the 2 new suggestions I had learned, then I was able to get consistent results.But I had learned several things that allowed me to deviate from directions but still to get consistent results, consistent enough anyway.The reason I wanted to deviate from specific omron directions is so I can make measurements in comfort and quickly.Here are my findings.Note: I determined these findings by measuring my BP under ideal conditions for at least 5 times, and then comparing those readings to readings I would get under less ideal conditions, of which I would also repeat 5 times.1.I could have long sleeve shirts and even a sweatshirt (this all happened when it was still cold, and I just found enough time to share this now, summer), but not super spongy sweatshirt, as far as sweatshirts go. But I did try to put my weight on my elbow, to "squeeze" through the shirt to the hard surface, so as not to dampen vibrations.2.I did not have to sit straight and upright. I was able to sit on my sofa, and lean on a sofa arm rest.3.My sofa has a soft arm rest. So I took a small, but kind of deep(ish) ceramic plate (for eating food), and placed it under my elbow, and leaned on it, to push it down, so it would not dampen vibrations from my heart. And amazingly this too worked, well enough, anyway.I kept that little plate handy.All this had allowed me to make fairly reliable BP measurementsQuickly,Without having to take my shirts offWithout having to find a hard flat surfaceDoing it right on my sofa, where I was anyway.Additional info:From this experiment I had learned that if I cook my own food, and use no salt, or a minimal amount of salt, my BP was in good range.Note1: my BP became a concern to me and my doctor for no more than 1 year. Because at my check-up one year prior, my BP was still ok. The reason I say this is because if someone has BP that is in a worse condition than mine, maybe simply reducing salt in their diet may not be enough. But it worked for me.Note2: learning this was not straightforward, because the effect from food to BP measurement can be delayed. So it took a while to figure this out.Note3: I also learned that your actual blood pressure can change during the measurement process, and Omron 7 will pick it up. So this means that if you follow all the directions for getting a consistent measurement, it may not look consistent simply because it actually changes inside your body.

Easy to use, compact to carry with you

There may be a learning curve in taking readings using wrist monitor but it read considerably higher than my OMRON upper arm cuff reader (which has read well in doctor’s office so I know it is accurate).Very happy with look, Bluetooth capability, app working well with iPhone.

I am satisfied with this device and got a very good price. I decided to experiment with positioning and just getting an idea of how it works. I never got a high reading even when I deliberately did things that should cause a high reading. I feel like I need to find somebody with high blood pressure to make sure it actually works. But my BP is generally on the low side and I don't actually have any issues, so for now I'm assuming it's accurate. It's one of the few officially validated models.The blue positioning heart takes a few tries to catch onto and it disappears pretty quick and will take your BP even if your position is wrong, so definitely do some experimenting there.The bluetooth connect button is on the back of the device. This information is well hidden in the manual and I eventually had to call Omron. The manual says bluetooth is turned on by default but mine was turned off. A lot of people complain about losing connectivity. Here's what I've found so far.Initial bluetooth setup was OK once I found the button. But I don't keep bluetooth turned on on my iPhone all the time. So sometimes I get an error message when I try to sync, either by turning bluetooth on before I measure BP, or trying to sync later. With bluetooth on on my iPhone, I just do what it says, which I think is, turn off the Omron screen and press (and release) the Omron bluetooth button. On my phone it will look like it's trying to connect but hasn't. Meanwhile the latest reading has in fact synced and shows on the Omron screen.So don't always go by what the bluetooth setting screen on your phone says. It may be working even when it looks like it isn't. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use the app, still haven't decided, but it seems easier to see previous readings in a list in the app rather than clicking on the Omron and seeing them one by one.Omron has a good video about bluetooth pairing except the model they use to illustrate has the bluetooth button plainly marked on the front of the device instead of hidden on the back like this model. If you see 4 little squares on the Omron screen, you're connected. This is in the video but not the manual.

My doctor recommended the Omron brand, so I chose this inexpensive battery-operated unit. I was surprised how small the unit is, and the case it comes in. It comes with two AAA batteries, so you don't need to dig any out. It also comes with a manual, and a quick start. The quick start includes downloading the app and syncing your monitor to it, Or, you can do what I did: Put the batteries in, wrap it around the small of your wrist face up, sit up straight with your arm on a table, and hit the START button. It's been completely reliable so far., matching other sources, as did the pulse ox and heart rate values. I haven't used the phone app, and don't intend to. If you just want a quick, easy, inexpensive, very portable blood pressure monitor, this is the unit for you.