How do you measure blood pressure at home?

Lots of stroke survivors joined the stroke club due to high blood pressure. I'm one of them.

The biggest challenge with high blood pressure is that it doesn't hurt. Most people will feel no symptoms unless something goes terribly wrong. Or they might learn they have the condition if they get an annual physical.

Because of the danger of high blood pressure directly, and because of the danger of other conditions that manifest as high blood pressure, it's important to check it regularly, and that doesn't mean you have to go to the doctor every week.

You can find home blood pressure meters all over the place -- from Amazon to Costco to the corner grocery store. But which one is best? And what do you need to know if you've already had a stroke?

This week, I'm joined by Carol Lucarelli of Omron Healthcare. Omron is a leading manufacturer of home blood pressure meters. In fact, one of their devices is sitting on the table next to me as I type this. It was that very device that gave me the 210 over 160 reading that kicked off my stroke story several years ago. More recently it read 134 over 77 -- not perfect, but still much better than the condition that collapsed my right middle cerebral artery.

One reason I wanted to talk with Carol was that I heard about Omron's Going for Zero mission. The other reason is that I like tech and gadgets, especially when they can save lives.

IMAGINE A HEALTHIER WORLD

We believe the next generation won’t be defined by age, but by a world without heart attacks or strokes. This is a world-changing mind-set we call Going for Zero™. We do our part through technology supporting personal fitness, heart health, healthy lungs and freedom from pain. You bring this commitment to life by understanding and sharing heart health with every step.

https://omronhealthcare.com/generation-zero/

Carol joins us to talk about how these devices work, how they compare to the doctor's office, and why we should trust devices from Omron from wrist devices to upper arm cuffs to smart watches.

If you don't see the audio player below, click here to listen to the conversation on the original site.

 

Click here for an AI-generated transcript