Evaluating the ReliOn HEM-741-CREL Blood Pressure Monitor

If you have a need to routinely monitor your blood pressure and have done it with the older hand pump

Starting with the technology this blood pressure monitor uses what's called the oscillometric method which means the monitor detects your blood's movement through your brachial artery. The detected movement is then converted into a digital reading that is displayed for easy recording. Unlike earlier blood pressure monitors no stethoscope is needed.

The items included are the monitor, arm cuff, AC adapter and instruction manual. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. While the unit runs on 4 'AA' size batteries, the AC adapter allows conservation of batteries if the unit is always used in the same location. The unit automatically switches off after 5 minutes if left on. The instruction manual contains a troubleshooting guide and the unit has a 5-year limited warranty. The price is below $50. Consumer Reports recommended this unit over more expensive blood pressure monitors.

One nice feature is that both the Systolic (higher number) and Diastolic (lower number) are displayed in large sizes making it easy to read for those who may have a vision problem. One built in feature is called an irregular heartbeat symbol that appears during the measurement. This detects if the hearts rhythm varies by more then 25% from the average rhythm. It is displayed with the final readings if this occurs two or more times during the blood pressure measurement. If this occurs a doctor should be consulted.

Once the date and time are entered you're good to go. The arm cuff is applied similarly to earlier style monitors with clear instructions and guides showing the proper location. When you press the ON/OFF START button you can select between user A and B by pressing the USER SELECT button. It tracks two users and keeps the results of the tests in memory.

The next step is to press the ON/OFF START button that initiates the cuff inflation. The right level is sensed automatically and increases the inflation if necessary. When the measurement is completed the Systolic and diastolic pressures are displayed along with your average pulse. One very useful feature is the averaging function that averages the three most recent measurements if they are taken within a ten minutes of the most recent reading. This smoothes out the natural variations from test to test that anyone who has monitored their blood pressure has observed. In addition to the average the unit maintains the previous individual readings. The directions suggest waiting 2-3 minutes between measurements to allow the arteries to regain their normal state.

The ReliOn HEM-741-CREL Blood Pressure Monitor is an economical, easy-to-use alternative to monitoring your blood pressure on a periodic basis. It has a full complement of features that take the guesswork and chore out of this task thus making it more likely that you will use it as prescribed.bulb and dial type you know how cumbersome that can be for a one-person operation. Fortunately there is an economical and accurate alternative available that can be purchased at Wal-Mart stores everywhere. The name is the ReliOn Automatic Inflation Blood Pressure Monitor Model HEM-742CREL manufactured for Wal-Mart by Omron. There are enough features on this unit to make taking your blood pressure a low stress operation which is exactly what you want when measuring your blood pressure!