Did you know that roughly a third of all adults in the UK have high blood pressure? And yet because figures suggest that 1 in 5 are actually unaware of what their blood pressure measurement even is, it’s thought this figure could be even higher.
High blood pressure can lead to serious health problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, yet if it was checked regularly and monitored carefully these could be easily avoided or at least alert you to make an appointment with your doctor. And in a society very much driven by the desire to keep track of our vital stats, whether that be calories, weight, step count etc., why is it that something so much more important to our health isn’t?
One answer would be that because we can’t necessarily see the affects of high blood pressure it doesn’t always feature on our radar. And even if it did, many of us may think that it’s not worth worrying about and certainly not worth bothering to make a doctor’s appointment for.
Which is why the development of at home blood pressure monitors is proving more and more popular. It gives us the chance to be in control, to be able to keep a tab on our blood pressures levels and perhaps more importantly notice when there are changes.
Braun has recently released two blood pressure monitors that use the latest technology to enable smart, comfortable and intuitive readings. The iCheck® 7 and the ActivScan™ 9 both allow users to sync their data to Braun’s Healthy Heart app and gain access to easy to understand coloured charts and graphs. You can also input additional lifestyle factors that play a part in your the health of your heart to give you a fully comprehensible understanding of what’s going on with your body.
iCheck® 7 (BPW4500) Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor
The iCheck® 7 is a wrist blood pressure monitor that uses the smart ‘ball in the hole’ system to help users position it correctly and therefore giving a more accurate reading. Once it has read and recorded your blood pressure, the results are colour-coded from green to red so that you are able to instantly understand your heart’s health with only a simple glance at your wrist.
The free Healthy heart app that accompanies the device can be used on both a phone or tablet and as well as it automatically updating your blood pressure readings, the app can also keep a log of your sleep, diet, stress levels and exercise each day to help you build a fuller picture of your overall health and wellbeing. Priced at RRP £99.99 it’s a small price to pay for a bit of health kit that could essentially save your life.
ActivScan™ 9 (BUA7200) Blood Pressure Monitor
The other model is the ActivScan™ 9, a comfortable and intuitive blood pressure monitor that looks more like the traditional ones you’re probably accustomed to. But don’t let that fool you, as this is leaps and bounds ahead in the technological stakes. It measures and stores your blood pressure and the results are then accessed through the dynamic user interface, which is simple and intuitive to use and the full colour display is controlled by a navigation wheel and soft touch buttons.
It is attached by slipping the custom-made, pinch-to-open cuff around your upper arm and uses soft inflate technology to gently measure your blood pressure without discomfort. Like the iCheck®, blood pressure is colour-coded for ease of understanding and data is tracked by charts and graphs.
The monitor is fully compatible with smart phone devices via the Braun Healthy Heart app and this helps build up a history of your blood pressure readings that can be checked by yourself as well as being shared with your doctor.
The ActivScan™ 9 blood pressure monitor is priced at RRP £149.99 and both models are available to purchase from Boots.
Regular monitoring of your blood pressure means you are more likely to catch irregularities early and by implementing a few small lifestyle changes it can help bring that blood pressure back down.
For more information on these blood pressure models visit the Braun website at www.braunbloodpressuremonitors.co.uk
*collaborative post
