BP Monitor for POTS

I am seeking information for a friend that suffers from POTS.
She is searching for a recommended monitor for blood pressure and pulse rate to be used by the patient at home and which are carried in stores in the UK.
If someone knows of a reliable brand and reasonable price, please let me know.
I really appreciate any information on this as it would be very helpful.

Thank you,
Nielk

Sorry I can't help with a UK brand, but I have a Walgreens brand P/HR monitor that in addition to having multiple memories, can upload data via a USB cable to an excel spreadsheet. Very handy and a feature worth looking for when taking multiple measurements a day.

It sounds great. It's amazing that it can do that.
You probably can then take the spreadsheet to your doctor.

If anyone knows of a similar product available in the U.K. - much appreciated.

Is this an accurate determinant of POTS intensity?

I have been told that for wrist devices the Panasonic EW-BW10 is reliable. Personally I have the older EW3006, which is very basic, but works good.

It is good to test your device, and make sure you can return it, if it doesn't work as you like/expect whatever you buy. The person this is intended for should settle down, be at rest for some time and make three or more measurements after another the measurements shouldn't change much. If they do, return the device.

Remember that a wrist device will never be as reliable as a medical professional making the measurement with a proper device.

Hi neil - I bought an Omron MX2 Basic from UK Amazon. Omron are a reputable make and some pharmacies stock them.

It's a very simple monitor and not intended for continuous reading. You put the cuff around your arm, press a button, the cuff inflates automatically, remains inflated for a few seconds, and then it deflates and you are given the BP and HR reading for that time.

I used it to try the "poor man's tilt table test" to try to self-diagnosis POTS and get some data before visiting my GP to get the results confirmed (which they were).

Hi NeilK,

Yes Walmart Stocks the Omron brand you need to check if they stock it in the UK though

I have the Omron HEM-711DLX and have had no problems with it at all

GaryK

Thanks all for your informative replies.
The truth is that I was originally asking for a friend in the U.K., but now I'm thinking that it is not a bad idea for any of us who feel we have symptoms of pots. We can just monitor our BP at different postures and if it shows a real difference, we can go with this information to our doctor. Probably much cheaper then a tilt test and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. In addition, if you are like me, My pots symptoms vary depending on how I feel in general. This way, you could chose the day of when to take the readings.
I'm going to look into buying one myself.

It sounds really good Sushi, I will check it out.
Thanks.

I'm also looking into buying a BP/HR monitor now, because it could indicate if it makes sense to take a tilt table test. I would take the test anyway, because i have OI, but if i can show a doctor my BP or HR behaves abnormally, it will be easier to ask him to send me to a specialist.

Is there any difference between a wrist and an upper arm model as far as reliability of the measurement is concerned? Do you have the same BP at these two points? I guess for the heart rate it should be the same Is Beurer a good brand?

Thanks

I tried the one for the wrist. Very diff. than the upper arm. Once in a while it is the same, but the upper arm has always been better. I got rid of it.

I've also read that blood pressure monitors that go on the wrist (or finger) are not very accurate. I'd get one where the cuff goes around the upper arm.

I took my BP monitor into the doctor's office once to compare it with the value the nurse got using the stethoscope and it was just about the same. So, at least for sitting/resting BP, it works well.

I do have a quick comment about measuring your BP at home as opposed to a doctor's office or a tilt tablet test. As others have noted (on another thread, I think?) if your pulse pressure is too low then these machines can have a hard time reading BP. Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic pressure (top number) and diastolic pressure (bottom number). If it is too low then many times these BP monitors will report an error.

I don't know how often POTS patients have low pulse pressure but in my case (NMH, Neurally Mediated Hypotension) it happens a lot. If I try to take my BP while standing (first thing in the morning, before any medications) then it is hit or miss. Once I got a value of 97/84 (a pulse pressure of 13, and an unusually high diastolic value, it's usually between 60-70) but many times all I get is an error. Because the automatic BP monitor simply says "error" I can't ever be sure whether it's low pulse pressure or something else.

That said, I do think BP monitors are useful devices to have. I bought mine many years ago (14? 15?) and it's still working just fine. It's an Omron, don't remember the model number. And, as you said, the heart rate is also measured so that might be helpful if you suspect you have POTS.

Thanks for the comments

I noticed that most doctors first ask if you messsured wrist or upper arm BP. Basically saying that wrist is worth nothing. I'm from Switzerland so I'm not sure how other countrys see this but I assume it would be the same.
Maybe I'm just unlucky but most doctors just asume that I've ben upset at the time of messurement which caused the rise in BP (till over 200/200 for a few minutes...) Or the device was malfunctioning (yes both I ussed till now including the doctors one) or the values that high are just normal from time to time...

But if you get these values with the doctor's device in his office, won't he then send you to a cardiologist?

He has. But ist was normal or just a Bit higher then normal when i was there. They didn't See anything worriesome. There was something they saw at the hearth but seems it's nothing to worry about I dont remember thought what it was. Some wird bp behaviour. They told me it didn't come from the hearth but from the brain/nervs System. Falles it dysautonomia.

Oh, ok. I have a friend who has ME/CFS and heart problems and they said the same, that it's most likely the autonomous nervous system.

I will now try to find a specialist for Dysautonomia/OI/etc. anywhere in the world and ask if he can instruct a specialist in Switzerland how to do the tests. If i know something i will post it here or on the Swiss association's forum. Which is very little used at the moment, unfortunately...

Somebody in Germany would be very useful, thanks. Maybe it's not very far away. It's usually difficult with my insurance, but a one time visit might be worth it. And it would be easier for a German doctor to cooperate with a Swiss one, less language problems. I will look at it.