

A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that people who have high blood pressure, or hypertension, before age 40 are at an increased risk of heart disease later in life. So it's never too early to start taking a series of easy, accurate readings and monitoring your blood pressure

A series of measurements taken with an accurate home blood pressure monitor will let you know if your blood pressure is high. Manual blood pressure devices don't provide your heart rate or tell you if you have an irregular heartbeat -- they also may not offer the accurate reading you need when you're looking for both your systolic pressure and diastolic pressure unless you're a trained professional. Even the name is complicated -- who can say sphygmomanometer, anyway? (I spelled that right on the first try, by the way, and I am proud of myself.)



Below are seven wireless upper-arm blood pressure monitors and one wrist cuff device, which the AHA recommends only for people who can't fit into a traditional arm cuff when looking to take a blood pressure measurement.


Read more: The best thermometers for cold and flu




I never thought I'd be genuinely impressed by something like a blood pressure monitor (yawn), but here we are. The QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor left me wondering how it's possible to have a blood pressure monitor feel cool. It's one of those "Apple of X" things -- this is the Apple of at-home blood pressure cuffs. 

Not that "cool-looking" should be your chief factor when shopping for a blood pressure machine, but it certainly makes home monitoring feel like less of a chore than it otherwise might when you're working on preventing hypertension or managing heart disease. Anyway, on to the things that actually matter.

Prepare yourself for a spew of great things: This cuff is comfortable. The cuff size was a fit for my (kind of lanky) arms, with no gaps between my skin and the fabric. The readings were consistent and accurate, and the set-up was almost unbelievably easy. I had this thing out of the box, on my arm and connected to my phone in about two minutes, and my first blood pressure reading was done about 30 seconds after that. 

Your whole family can use it, too: this digital blood pressure monitor pairs wirelessly with up to eight phones or tablets at any given time (let's see a manual blood pressure monitor do that!). Each time you use it, QardioArm automatically averages three readings, monitors and detects an irregular heartbeat, and stores all your measurements and notes in Qardio's HIPAA-compliant cloud. 

View and share your data on the Qardio App, where you can also set goals and reminders, or sync your data with Apple Health or S Health on Android devices.


The Withings BPM Connect felt and looked just as trendy as the QardioArm, and it provided a cosistent and accurate result. It was a tough call for me between the QardioArm and the Withings BPM Connect because they're both great and they're similar products. 

In the end, the Withings BPM Connect was runner-up only because its sign-up process was more cumbersome. To compare, it took about two minutes to get completely set up with the QardioArm, whereas it took about 15 minutes with the Withings BPM Connect. 

That's not bad in the overall realm of things, but having just experienced the ease and speed of the QardioArm, it was definitely noted. 

As for the upper arm cuff fit, comfort and ease of use, the Withings BPM Connect holds its own. The app is also a breeze once you're in, and it has unlimited storage for your BP measurement needs (though, the device will remember up to eight readings in between syncs). You can also set up multiple user profiles in the Withings Health Mate app.

In sum, if you don't mind a longer set-up, you could save yourself $20 compared to the QardioArm. 

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

When it comes to products that could save your life, budget may not be the biggest consideration. But sometimes, you can strike gold. The iHealth Track Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor is the gold nugget of the at-home BP monitoring world. 

At just $40, I was skeptical about how this device would perform in terms of accuracy and consistency. I thought I was right at first: The initial reading I got on this device told me I was very hypertensive when my usual blood pressure is in the healthy range. 

Then I realized I didn't follow the directions properly, which should be a lesson to everyone.

Once I took the time to thoroughly read the instructions manual and do what I was supposed to, I got consistent and accurate BP monitor readings thereafter. Funny how that works. 

So, not only did the iHealth Track prove to encompass the most important aspects of a blood pressure monitor, but it's also simple to use. I had no problem getting into the cuff and you just press one button to start the reading. 

The device stores up to 99 readings and you can store unlimited data in the iHealth MyVitals app. If you don't have time to sync, no worries: The device shows your BP readings right on the screen each time. 

Omron Healthcare


Worth mentioning is that this blood pressure monitor gave me the most consistent readings throughout the entire testing process. And it measures so much more than just blood pressure. In addition to the essentials -- systolic and diastolic blood pressure -- this Omron model measures your pulse, atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia and sinus rhythm simultaneously.



Read More: CES health and wellness products: The best of 2020

Omron Healthcare

Remember that the AHA recommends an upper-arm cuff over everything, so you should only opt for a wrist cuff if you have a real reason to do so. Some reasons you may want to opt for a wrist cuff include: 

  • You travel often and need to take frequent readings -- wrist-based cuffs are typically more portable

If you're going for a wrist blood pressure cuff, the Omron Gold Wireless is a good place to start looking. This automatic blood pressure monitor cuff has all the essential features you'd find in an upper-arm blood pressure cuff, but this Omron blood pressure monitor is also portable: This wrist monitor averages a series of up to three readings taken over a 10-minute period and will immediately alert you if you have high blood pressure


You can see this cuff monitor is packed with features, but it's also tiny, quiet and comfortable. And out of all the blood pressure cuffs I tested, the Omron Gold was one of the easiest to use -- there's no fumbling with a lengthy cuff or tube when using a wrist-based blood pressure monitor.

Lifesource/A&D Medical


At first, I was a little skeptical about this one because I couldn't seem to find a lot of information about it online and I saw some questionable reviews from buyers. But I realized that LifeSource is a brand of A&D Medical, a medical equipment brand that's been manufacturing at-home consumer devices for close to 50 years, and has all of its products clinically validated by third parties. So, I decided to give it a try. 

Let me just say this: I have tiny arms -- I frequently call them noodles -- and I can confirm that this blood pressure cuff is massive. It would never work for me, because my arm was basically swimming in it. To that end, I can't speak to the accuracy of this device. 


A&D Medical


This user-friendly monitor sports a basic design and gives cuff-fit error messages so you can fix things before you start. It also has a body movement sensor that may help prevent inaccurate readings. (You're supposed to stay still the entire time you're taking a reading.) 

The A&D Connect app has a simple interface and it's easy to keep track of your blood pressure readings, as well as the readings of anyone who shares the device with you. This one shows your blood pressure immediately after the measurement is done, so if you'd rather keep track with a pen-and-paper log, that's an option, too.


Also tested

I tested several more at-home blood pressure monitors that also had some great features, but didn't quite match up to the ones above. They're definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for an at-home blood pressure monitor -- although the above products proved the best for me, you might find a unique combo of characteristics that's best for you. 

Note: The Withings BPM Core isn't available in the US yet. It's currently going through the process of FDA approval. You can sign up at Withings to get notified when it becomes available. 

More for people looking to improve their health in 2021
