A home blood pressure monitor is only as good as the technique used with it. These are the errors that change a reading enough to matter.
Sitting wrongly
Feet flat on the floor, back supported, arm resting at heart height. An unsupported arm hanging at your side can add several points on its own.
Measuring too soon
Sit quietly for five minutes first. No tea, no cigarette and no climbing stairs in the half hour before.
The wrong cuff size
A cuff too small for the arm reads high. Check the arm circumference range printed on the cuff against your own arm before you buy.
Taking a single reading
Take two, a minute apart, and use the second. Single readings scatter more than most people expect.
Talking during the measurement
It raises the number. So does holding your breath.
What we stock
Upper-arm digital monitors from Believia and Medico, Rs 5,500 to Rs 6,000. Upper-arm is what to buy: wrist monitors are far more sensitive to position and harder to use correctly at home.
Home readings are information to bring to your doctor, not a basis for changing your own medication.