I keep thinking of getting a manual blood pressure device, a sphygnomanometer, but I keep holding off because I'm spoiled with the convenience of using an electronic blood pressure monitor. Especially looking at the study below that says the manual device is more accurate than the digital one. I may just take the plunge. But before I do so, I have the ff. questions:
1.The nice thing about the digital one is that it tells me if I have irregular heart beat. Can using a manual device do that?
2. Another thing is, why does the digital device reading jump around so much? Is it the device? Or is it just normal for the device to be so off at consecutive readings? Or is it because I have a really high blood pressure that really, a digital device doesn't function well above a certain range of blood pressure? For example, just now, here are my consecutive readings: 215/123, 176/120, 202/113, 188/119, 184/118, 211/120, 211/125, 180/110, 179/116, 214/144. In some reading, the irregular heartbeat is flashing.
Even in days when the irregular heart beat isn't flashing, the readings still jump all over the place.
3. Are manual devices going to be better at taking readings, regardless of whether the blood pressure is high, normal, or low? In terms of accuracy and consistency in successive readings.
4. Is it difficult to learn to use a manual device? What is the hardest part in using a sphygnomanometer?
5. What kind of sphygnomanometers are best? There are the old ones that are bulky I use to see in the old days, and there are smaller ones these days. Will the bulky ones work better?
@Blossom would very much appreciate your thoughts.
1.The nice thing about the digital one is that it tells me if I have irregular heart beat. Can using a manual device do that?
2. Another thing is, why does the digital device reading jump around so much? Is it the device? Or is it just normal for the device to be so off at consecutive readings? Or is it because I have a really high blood pressure that really, a digital device doesn't function well above a certain range of blood pressure? For example, just now, here are my consecutive readings: 215/123, 176/120, 202/113, 188/119, 184/118, 211/120, 211/125, 180/110, 179/116, 214/144. In some reading, the irregular heartbeat is flashing.
Even in days when the irregular heart beat isn't flashing, the readings still jump all over the place.
3. Are manual devices going to be better at taking readings, regardless of whether the blood pressure is high, normal, or low? In terms of accuracy and consistency in successive readings.
4. Is it difficult to learn to use a manual device? What is the hardest part in using a sphygnomanometer?
5. What kind of sphygnomanometers are best? There are the old ones that are bulky I use to see in the old days, and there are smaller ones these days. Will the bulky ones work better?
@Blossom would very much appreciate your thoughts.