Penguinlady's Full Review: Omron HEM 712 Capsules Automatic Blood Pressure Mo...
NOTE: I am reviewing the Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor, Model #712C. However, mine doesn't look anything like the one pictured above. It actually looks more like the #714C. But it says 712C right on its face, so maybe they've redesigned the front of it since I bought mine.
I've always had very low blood pressure. A reading of 90/60 has been common in my life, and one memorable day, it dipped to 80/50; the Red Cross refused to take my blood because they thought I was already dead. I'm accustomed to getting out of bed very slowly, arising from a chair very slowly, and never kneeling because I'll faint when I stand up. You get the picture - not much happening in my veins.
Until last October 30. That night, I was at a community meeting and had taken the mike to ask a question when I was suddenly hit with a blinding headache. The kind that makes you pop out into a sweat and sets your ears to ringing and makes you bang your head against walls while ralphing up your last meal. The kind that registers 15 on a pain scale of 1 - 10. (And for the skeptical, I spent 20 years as a classroom trainer and instructional video producer and host, so speaking in public isn't even on my list of fears.)
The headaches hit again and again in the next nine days - five more, to be precise. They hit me while asleep at 2:00 am, while climbing a flight of stairs in a theater (that one had me rolling on the lobby floor until 911 came,) and while walking across my living room. They didn't seem to be related to any identifiable causative factor, but they clearly spelled trouble.
After the first one, my doctor recommended that I buy a BP monitor and start tracking myself. So I went to our local pharmacy and bought the only version they had, the Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor Model #HEM-712C.
FEATURES
• The Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor Model #HEM-712C is small, about 5" x 4" on the face, and stands at a tilt for easier visibility. The back is about 2-1/2" tall.
• It has a 1-1/2" square screen, "On-Off" and "Start" buttons on the right side, and a symbol legend on the left. At the top of the screen it says Systolic mmHg and at the bottom, Diastolic mmHg and Pulse/min. The make and model number are across the bottom of the face.
• Attached to the box by a flexible 24" tube is the cuff, with Velcro closure.
• The Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor Model #HEM-712C operates on four AA batteries, with 4 watts of power. The batteries live behind a sliding door on the bottom of the box.
• I paid about $70 for mine because I needed it right away and didn't have time to shop around. But I think it's available for considerably less, if you aren't having an emergency and have the luxury of time.
HOW TO USE IT
• Slide the cuff up your arm to a point where the bottom edge is about half an inch above your elbow. The tube should come out of the bottom of the cuff, heading toward your wrist.
• Tighten the cuff and secure it with the Velcro. Don't cut off your circulation; you should be able to slide two fingers between it and your arm.
• Press the blue "On-Off" button. Wait for the screen to clear.
• A zero and small heart will appear on the screen when it's ready to use. According to the symbol legend on the front of the box, the heart means that the machine is ready to measure.
• Press the beige "Start" button and let go.
• The cuff will inflate and the numbers will start to climb. When the numbers stop changing and a set of numbers remains on the screen, that's your BP reading. That display will alternate with your pulse reading.
• Press the "On-Off" button again and remove the cuff.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT
• It's easy to use. I'm not medically trained, and I've never understood the relationship between the meter, the stethoscope on my elbow, and the watch, and with this machine, I don't need to. All I have to do is push two buttons and read the display.
• I love having the symbol legend on the face of the box. A reasonably intelligent person can use this without having to resort to the instruction leaflet, because everything you need to know is right there.
• It's small enough to fit on my nightstand or in the drawer. For a while there, I was taking my BP about five times a day, and every time I had a twinge of a headache. This machine is small enough that I could carry it with me.
• The tube is detachable, which makes storage easy.
• It's pretty accurate. A few days after I bought it, my doctor tested it against her professional model. My Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor Model #HEM-712C was within a few digits of hers, which isn't bad for a small unit designed for home use.
WHAT I'LL CHANGE WHEN I BECOME QUEEN
• The only thing I don't like about it is that it won't measure BP higher than 215/whatever. My last killer headache, which hit me as I was crossing the livingroom and we believe to be the result of a misprescription of Maxalt by my doc's back-up when she was ill, was accompanied by a BP of 235/135. Penguinman was frantically trying to take my BP and kept getting error messages, but it worked fine on him. We learned later that it's limited in its upper range; it doesn't register higher than 215. Maybe the manufacturer figured that if your BP was higher than that, you'd be in the hospital anyway, but that wasn't the case with me, and it wasn't until the EMTs came (in my little village, a call to 911 generates three trucks and seven cute guys!) that I heard one of them call out to the other the actual numbers. At which point they literally threw me into the ambulance and sped to the ER.
And my headaches? They disappeared as suddenly as they'd arrived. Five between October 30 and November 8, and none since. I underwent a CAT scan, a spinal tap, two MRIs, an MRA, and a renal angiogram, and they all came up negative. So I still occasionally check my BP, but as far as I'm concerned, the issue is closed.
SUMMARY AND VERDICT
You can argue that that being able to measure a BP of more than 215 over anything is irrelevant because you need to be in the ER anyway, but I think a BP monitor should measure ALL levels. I find this machine helpful and easy to use, perfect for home use, and the occasional follow-up monitoring I still do, as long as your BP doesn't get into the stroke range. At that point, it cuts out on you.
So while the simplicity of design and ease of use certainly merit the Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor Model #HEM-712C five stars, I have to drop that to an overall rating of four stars because of the cut-off point.
Automatic blood pressure monitors are affordable, accurate and simple to use. This monitor automatically inflates with the push of a button. And only ...More at TodaysConcept.com
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