Recommended devices
The BIHS website provides a list of devices which have been independently assessed and recommended for home or professional use, as well as a list of devices which the BIHS does not recommend.11
Upper arm, BP monitors are the best recommendation for home measurement. While wrist devices may be accurate under strict testing conditions, they are prone to error in home use if the wrist is not held at the same level as the heart.
Automated monitors should be checked from time to time against other validated BP devices using the same patient at the same time. The machine should also be serviced and calibrated according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For a manual BP monitor, the device should clearly show the date the next (annual) service is due.9
Recommendations on the interval between re-calibrating or servicing a BP monitor range from six months to at least once every two years. Devices used for the Hypertension Case-Finding Service should be validated, maintained and recalibrated “periodically according to manufacturers' instructions”.9,12,13,14
The British Heart Foundation advises patients that sending a BP monitor back to the manufacturer to be serviced or recalibrated may incur a fee. “If this option is too complicated or expensive it may be easier and cheaper to buy a new monitor.”13