A study from Australia suggests most home blood pressure monitors are not carefully tested for accuracy.
Published in the journal Hypertension, researchers studied 972 blood pressure monitors sold in Australia and throughout the world on platforms such as Amazon and ebay.
Only 6 percent of all the monitoring devices had been validated by the manufacturer as accurate.
About half of the total devices studied were wristband models, considered by experts to be less reliable than upper-arm cuffs. Just 8 percent of the wrist cuffs had been validated as accurate. About 18 percent of the upper-arm cuffs were validated as accurate.
To see if the model you own has been validated, go to stridebp.org.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
