In this high-pressure world we live in everybody experiences daily stuff that will raise your blood pressure.
Usually, that’s just a temporary thing but chronic high pressure can be problematic.
Case in point: when I had my yearly flight medical exams as a commercial pilot, my blood pressure in my late sixties often exceeded the norm set.
Not unusual as any visit to the white coats will tend to do that!
And interestingly, all doctors I have visited had Omron blood pressure monitors on their desk. A sure indication of their accuracy.
So, monitoring my BP became a daily habit. We’ve gone through at least a half-dozen monitors of the inexpensive sort.
Just about all of them lasted but a few years.
Except one: our trusty Omron M4 upper arm monitor which we had at least 20 years.
You can tell that my wife was a nurse…
So, we decided to migrate to the latest gear from Omron and bought the HEM6232T wrist BP monitor and the Smart Elite HEM7600T for upper arm monitoring.
Taking the Pressure off of Taking Blood Pressure
First up: what is the general difference between the two methods of monitoring?
Upper arm readings are considered to be more accurate but a bit more cumbersome with a tube connecting the cuff with the device.
Let’s Take a Look at the Smart Elite HEM7600T Upper Arm Monitor
The beauty of the Omron HEM7600T is that the readout is right on the cuff itself. Easy as!
In addition, all readings can be displayed on your phone as both monitors we are reviewing have Bluetooth connection.
The wrist monitor has plenty of memory for 2 users on the device.
The upper arm monitor serves just 1 user at the time.
If someone else uses it, the stored measurements will be mixed up!
Whilst this monitor can store 100 measurements on the device, they cannot be recalled unless you sync them with the app.
Now remember how these cuff monitors would put a lot of pressure on your upper arm – to the point of almost painful?
The Omron monitors of today have what they call IntelliWrap cuffs with IntelliSense Technology which automatically applies the right amount of pressure for fast, accurate and more comfortable measurements.
This does make a difference, we found.
Both devices have the ability to detect heartbeat irregularities, which is important for folks like me to detect AFIB (atrial fibrillation).
The 7600T is a very well-built device, sleek, impressive with matte and gloss black.
It takes 4 AAA batteries (all supplied) and is extremely quiet when inflating.
We did not fully test how long the batteries last under normal use.
Officially it should be able to handle up to 300 measurements.
Some users report up to 150 readings.
Which is not a lot if you use it 2 or 3 times a day.
I would much prefer a rechargeable battery.
The display is very clear and easy to read at night.
Seeing the 7600T is eminently portable, it would be nice if a storage pouch or case was provided.
The cardboard box it came in is rather massive and unsuitable for travel.
The App
The Omron Connect app is fairly essential to get a view of the historical data of your readings.
It’s easy to install but I don’t necessarily like this data to be in the cloud. That’s another bit of privacy that you give away.
The app allows you to set the date and time automatically, and the new devices are quickly connected.
The 7600T is very app dependent. That has advantages of unlimited storage and some funky statistics.
But there are some idiosyncrasies in displaying the date in the American format: month first, then the day.
So, 6/3 is not the 6th of March!
This really should easily be addressed to change automatically, depending on location.
We have signalled this to Omron, and they are aware of this.
If you have an iPhone, you’re OK but for Android phones we are having to wait for a workaround.
Our Findings
We were very impressed with the unit itself.
If it lasts as long as our old M4 monitor, we would be very happy.
The readings are as accurate as we could assess, not having a professional medical unit to compare it with.
After all, the readings are only indicative of any problems developing and your doctor will be able to make proper assessments.
Here is a short comparison of all 5 monitors we have in the house.
Remark: yes, we do have high blood pressure and are taking medication for it.
TESTING COMPARISON
Omron M4 170 97 65
Omron 7600T 172 101 65
Omron 6232T 170 102 65
Beurer 162 100 65
Bella Vita 155 100 66
So, they are all pretty much in the same ballpark.
We have found though that the Omron monitors consistently have higher measurements than their cheaper counterparts.
Ultimately, whatever monitoring device you use, you’ll notice the changes – lower or higher – versus the earlier measurements.
And if those changes are significant, you should check with your health professional.
Finally, and important to us, the Omron devices are made in Japan (not like the cheap and unreliable products that flood us from that big country to the west of Japan…).
They carry a standard 3 year warranty with another 3 years on top if you register them.
Highly recommended if you need accurate readings of your blood pressure!
Here’s the product page for the upper arm monitor.
The official price is $303 but if you check around you can find some prices well under 200 bucks including on Amazon for just over $200.
Also: during the EFY period from 12th of June the price will be $227.
Take Two: the Omron HEM6232T Bluetooth Wrist Monitor
We covered the main features of both monitors already above and in general they are very similar with the exception that this unit can cater to 2 users.
Each user can sync the readings to their iPhone or Android device.
With the Omron Connect app you can also easily see the average of the last 3 readings if taken within 10 minutes.
Common to both monitors is that the unit will alert you to any movement you make whilst getting a reading and also if the cuff is not positioned right.
This wrist monitor does come with a hard storage case.
Our Experience.
First up: the cuff is very high quality and curved to better accommodate the changing diameter of the wrist.
The only issue for my wife’s slender wrist is that the cuff is waaay too long…
The LED display is easy to read during the day.
When we need to take readings at night, the monitors we had been using, were always way too bright.
We wish the backlight could be dimmed and when I first saw a picture of this particular Omron monitor, I noticed the “brightness button” right above the Start button.
That sealed the deal for me, thinking: finally, we don’t have to be blinded by the bright light at night!
However, it turned out this symbol pictures the rising sun and, pressing it, will give you the average of your early morning readings…
You could have fooled me!
But, if you heard me complain about most monitors being too bright when you take a reading in the night, Omron’s got your back.
There’s no backlight at all!
Except a blue heart icon that indicates you had proper positioning of the monitor.
I tried using it in the pitch black of my bedroom and I had to feel around for the Start button.
I wasn’t sure it had begun inflation as it is a very gradual process, and the numbers were not visible…
For a monitor of this quality and price I would have preferred a dimmable backlight so that I don’t have to have a light on at night.
Partner disturbance is bad enough already with my snoring!
Unfortunately, Omron does not have any monitors with dimmable backlights…
Anyways, having these two monitors makes it easier for us: the wrist unit will be used during the day and the upper arm one at night!
We might one day have a unit from Omron that is small enough to wear as a watch and still give accurate readings.
Omron has the HeartGuide Watch model available in other countries but has decided not to release it in Australia.
I know there are plenty of watches that pretend they can give accurate measurements, but all are Chinese creations that don’t do anything for my confidence…
In the meantime, check out the Omron range here,and the product page for the HEM6232T here.
The RRP is $298 but, again, shop around and you’ll find these priced considerably cheaper.
Note: during the EoFY period from 12th of June the price will be $199 although there seems to be a pretty good deal on Amazon at time of publishing for just A$179.
