Tech Tools review: Ivy Health wireless blood pressure monitor

Among the reasons to make a trip to your doctor’s surgery, having your blood pressure taken is one of the most tedious. At worst, it’s a little uncomfortable, but it’s a necessary check-up that could pinpoint health problems. But have you ever heard of the white coat effect? Essentially it refers to when going to the doctor actually raises your blood pressure. It depends on how anxious about it you are, but most people are more comfortable in their own homes than they are in a medical setting.

There are plenty of options for taking your blood pressure in the comfort of your own home, especially with the ever-expanding capabilities of smartphones.

There’s the argument that having the blood pressure monitor at home means you will keep a closer eye on it, testing more regularly than you would if you had to go to the doctor’s office. Counter to that, though, is the belief that these devices aren’t really going to make much of a difference to our health in the long run, that they’re just a ice distraction to make us feel better about ourselves as we continue on with our less-than-healthy habits.

But say, for a moment, you had a medical condition that required you to watch your blood pressure closely. And say the “white coat effect” was something that you suffered badly from. Wouldn’t it make sense to have a device at home you could use to watch how changes to your lifestyle were impacting your health long-term?

Ivy Health’s wrist blood pressure monitor is one of the easier ones to use. Strap it to your wrist, push a button and it will immediately begin a read-out of your blood pressure.

Which brings me to my first question. What exactly is normal blood pressure? This week I learned it’s anything below 120 over 80, reducing the risk you’ll have a stroke or a heart attack. But aside from that, I have no clue what I’m looking at.

That’s where Ivy Health’s app comes in handy. You don’t need to have the app to use the blood pressure monitor; the device will take a quick measurement and display it on the built-in screen. But the accompanying software will also give you a report on the results. Is it good? Bad? Optimal? Has it changed much in recent days or weeks?

You don’t even have to pair the monitor with your phone; it automatically connects and displays the information in the app, once you have the correct product selected. It will also give you your heart rate.

You can also input the readings manually into the app.

It’s part of Ivy Health’s suite of health-focused tech products that feed into the app; the company also has a wifi connected scale to measure your body mass, body fat and so on.

The monitor charges over USB too, so you can keep the battery topped up if you’re a regular user.

The good

The device can be set up in a matter of minutes. In fact, the most time-consuming thing was setting up the time and date, to make sure your measurements have accurate information. Bluetooth connects automatically, so no intervention required there, and all you really need to do is make sure you save each report in the app.

The not-so-good

The Android app isn’t available to download for Irish users via the app store just yet, but iOS users can access it. There’s the odd error too that crops up, usually down to user error.

The rest

Although it goes on your wrist, it has a decent-length strap, so it will fit a range of body types. There are also picture instructions printed on the band to make sure it’s crystal clear how it needs to be positioned.

The verdict

HHH It’s compact and ideal for those on the move – whether they have a medical condition or are just mildly obsessed.