Under Pressure (Braun Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor BPM2510)

Name: yampy

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Product:	Braun Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor BPM2510
Date:	25.09.06 (539 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Less time at the Doctors, handy, easy to operate.

Disadvantages: Nothing as yet.

I have had high blood pressure - or hypertension, for over a year now and it is steadily rising due to some of the medication that I am given for my illness. It's sad really that one drug prescribed to me to help with one part of my illness is also responsible for making my blood pressure rise. A whole new way of life has changed me over the past year to help me control, and if possible bring my blood pressure down to a less worrying level. One great help I've had, apart from my wife who is a rock, is a wrist fitting Braun Blood Pressure Monitor with Sensor Control, the model number is BP 2510 UG. I bought it from Amazon.co.uk, for £30, about nine months ago as I had some vouchers at the time. I've always been a bit dubious of these types of gadgets and I did often wonder if they would be consistently reliable or not, what if it kept giving me the wrong readings that alone would probably put up my blood pressure. I thought really long and hard before purchasing the monitor, and asked a few of the nurses around at the surgery, give it a go then check it with the readings at the doctors and so I sent for it.


I do go to the doctors a couple of times a week but would have to go several more times a week if it was not for this monitor, which has turned out to be very accurate over the months that I've been using it. Using it properly and having some understanding of what blood pressure, and the monitor reading results mean, does help but at first you may need to try quite a few times before you start to become more proficient and the readings then start to come together and mean something. High blood pressure is when the upper (systolic) blood pressure value is higher than 140 mmHg and the lower (diastolic) value is higher than 90 mmHg. According to the World Health Organisation this reading of 140 over 90 value in an adult is the standard upper limit and this means any reading above that standard should and needs treatment. Systole means when the heart muscle contracts and blood is pumped into the aorta and pressure in the blood vessels is at it's highest. Diastole is when the heart muscle is relaxed the blood pressure in the arterial vessels drops to a low point.


As you will probably know blood pressure has a tendency to go up and down at various times of the day and with different levels of stress, exertion and exercise so just doing one reading would not give you an accurate reading. This being another good reason for having one of these monitors. Experts do agree that up to 90% of patients have inherited high blood pressure, but smoking, being overweight, to much salt and too much stress do contribute and cause high blood pressure. So for every pound in weight we loose our blood pressure will come down as well, stopping smoking has always been the advice for everyone especially those that have hypertension the same as regular exercise which include jogging, cycling, walking and swimming all go a long way to strengthen the cardiovascular system. Finally having a good nights sleep does play an important role in resting your heart and system thus bringing down stress levels and blood pressure.


The Braun BPM2510 Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor is very easy to position and use and comes with a simple step by step guide, it weighs approximately 1kg boxed and measures 7 x 7.5cms. On opening the box you will find the monitor with Velcro fitting wrist cuff that can accommodate wrist sizes from 13.5 to 20cm. The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) shows the Braun SensorControl active positioning system that has arrows pointing up and down that tell you if you have your arm in the right place next to your heart level. There are two large buttons on the front of the device one blue and one red, the red is for turning the monitor on or off but will turn itself off after two minutes if you forget, the blue is the memory button. The memory can store your last thirty readings that include blood pressure values, pulse, date and time of measurement, storing is done automatically and cannot be cleared once the memory is full the oldest values will be overwritten. Power supply is provided by two type LR 03 (AAA) batteries but they do recommend Duracell Ultra.


Blood pressure measurement on the display ranges from 50 mmHg (minimum diastolic value) up to 250 mmHg (maximum systolic value) and 40 - 160/min (pulse rate). The information booklet that comes with this monitor is well written and laid out with pictures showing what to do and what not to do and shows you some key rules for accurate measurements. They say you should always take readings at the same time daily, preferably in the morning, and you must not check your pressure within 30 minutes of smoking or drinking tea or coffee. You will need to remove any jewellery from the measuring wrist, sit down, relax, keep still and do not move or speak when taking the measurement. If you need or want to double check and take a further reading then you have to wait at least three minutes and then repeat the proceedure. The cuff of the device fits onto the wrist with the display uppermost and use the Velcro strap to firmly tighten the cuff for a snug fit around the wrist.


You press the red button to turn the machine on, then hold the arm with the monitor on in the general direction in front of the heart. You will need to move your arm up or down according to the direction of the arrows on the display and when you have reached the proper measuring position the display will beep a sound and show a heart symbol and the cuff will then inflate and the measurement begins. A beep will sound again when the measurement is taken with a reading displayed showing upper systolic value, lower diastolic value and pulse. Now this is when you should not panic because the first few times at using this you will get some unusual readings, well I did lets say I should of been in hospital, but on repeating the above procedure I soon had it down to a fine art. It must be said that there are some other messages that can be displayed these are error messages like, Err 64 which will mean that the cuff is too loose or Err 81 that says the cuff is not properly fitted, finally Err 01 this is a system error you should turn off the machine and start again.


A battery symbol is also evident on the display and will show the life left in the battery or when the battery symbol is flashing this means they are flat and need changing. Readings are also easily influenced by talking, coughing and moving about whilst taking the measurement so being seated and in a relaxed frame of mind does help. A handy blood pressure diary is supplied and a durable storage case and batteries as well. If you want to take some measurements when lying down then you will need to turn off the automatic positioning sensor. This is achieved by removing the battery cover, making sure that the machine is turned off, and then pressing the select button for two seconds on the display there will be a flashing position symbol next to 'ON'. You then have to the on off button to change the setting from 'ON' to position sensor deactivated, then you must confirm this by pressing the memory button. The guarantee of this product is two years commencing on the date of purchase.


I have got nothing but praise for this blood pressure monitor it's done the job for me over the last nine months, and saved a lot of time making trips to the doctors but mainly it has given my wife and me some peace of mind that can only help, albeit in a small way, to reducing my blood pressure. I now find it necessary to include some safety information given out by Braun. This blood pressure monitor is not a substitute for a doctors consultation, people who are suffering from arrhythmia, vascular constriction, arteriosclerosis, diabetes and users of cardiac pacemakers should make sure they consult their doctor. If you need any further advice or information then you might like to search the www.braun.com website or you can telephone their Consumer Relations helpline on 0800 783 7010

Summary: I have got nothing but praise for this blood pressure monitor.