A&D Medical Premium Multi-User Blood Pressure Monitor, Wide Cuff

Excellent value for daily measurements. Consistent and dependable.

I’ve owned a number of BP meters, some with fancy features like voice output and Bluetooth, but this meter is my favorite. It has just the right combination of features and is very easy to use even though it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles from my other meters. The unit comes with an AC adapter, but I have used batteries exclusively because it make it more portable for me. The cuff is large enough for my frame and has plenty of room for even larger arms. Detecting arrhythmia (AFIB) is another feature of this meter.

The first thing that I did was to take this to my doctor and have the nurse check the accuracy of the unit. The readings were within 1 or 2 points from the ones that the nurse obtained with a stethoscope. She told me this meter was very accurate and that slight variations can occur between readings.

I really like how the unit inflates the cuff. Unlike some of my other meters that feel like a professional wrestler is squeezing your arm, this meter has a less aggressive inflation profile. The meter starts off inflating the cuff slowly and then switches to a faster inflation rate until the proper inflation is reached. All meters have to assert pressure, but this one seems to be able to zero in on just the right amount to obtain an accurate reading. I have never had it inflate, pause, and then crank up the pressure or start over like some of my other meters.

The meter can track up to 60 measurements for each of four users. Accessing the memory confused me at first. When displaying the memory, the first reading is an average of the memories stored for the user. I like this. However, when I pressed the up and down arrows, I was greeted with a “No. xx” where “xx” is the memory number. I thought that there wasn’t a reading for the memory since I didn’t notice the period, so I went to the next one.

My only complaint is when using the up and down arrows, the “No. xx” message is displayed and then you have to wait three seconds for the actual reading to be displayed. That is very annoying especially when you want to step through multiple readings. A better solution would have been to display the memory number while an arrow key was depressed and then immediately display the reading when the button was released. Still, this is not that big of a deal for me since I usually only want to reference the most recent readings. But perhaps in their next version…

All in all, I am enjoying this very nice BP meter.

I’ve had this BP Monitor since February 27, 2024 and I expected the readings to be at least somewhere around + or – 5 maximum 10 off but it seems to vary. I will definitely try to compare with what’s a t the doctors office before I come to a conclusion regarding it’s accuracy. I’m not expecting it be accurate but consistent enough to help me monitor.

I had purchased a $25 BP monitor from Walmart a few months back. It seemed to work fine and had it “calibrated” 3 separate times by local clinics. BTW, “calibrated” is a lie – they want to check your machine against theirs and see if it is close. That is not calibration. Anyway, the $25 was verified 3 different times locally, and when the Mayo Clinic demanded I bring it in for “calibration”, they were kind enough to tell me that it was garbage and I needed a new one. They strongly recommended an A&D monitor. After doing my own research, I sent the Mayo a message saying that the Omron monitors were better rated from accuracy, quality, and features at a better price. They still insisted I purchase the A&D model – so I did.

After checking this A&D model against the $25 generic one over two days, it wasn’t any more accurate than the $25 one I had been told was garbage. Now this doesn’t mean this one is not accurate, it just means it won’t pass muster at the Mayo Clinic. Take that as you will.

Accuracy aside, this monitor is a nightmare to use if your blood pressure is over 180/XXX. It climbs slowly. Then, it drops incredibly slow – 1 pt every 0.5-1 second and often once it has compressed your arm to the point where you are sure it is going to burst, it wants to pump it back up and try again. I have never had a cuff this incredibly painful, and the worst part is that often, when you turn it off to try and save your arm, it won’t release the pressure on the cuff! I had to pull the hose out of the side of the unit just to get it to let go of my arm several times! That is NOT ok! I tried to take my BP every 3-4 hours for 2 days with this unit and ended up with 3 usable readings because I had to abandon the rest.

At $55, the features on this unit are minimal at best. It doesn’t store enough measurements. It doesn’t do the averaging the Omron Series 10 units do ($5 less btw), and did I mention it HURTS to use the dang thing? Overall this unit was a dismal failure. I’m sure if your BP is in the 140’s on a regular basis you can make this work, but why spend $5 more to get less? I ended up returning this and buying the Omron 10 that I wanted in the first place and saved myself $5. The features are better, the unit is easier to use, and it don’t try to see if it can make my arm pop or at least turn purple when I try to use it.

Save your money. Buy something better. Don’t buy the machine that tries to crush your arm. Pain increases BP. Kinda seems like you would want to cause as little pain as possible if BP is something you are trying to measure, no?