There are good reviews at...

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/health_and_fitness/blood-pressure-monitors/.

I use an old Omron HEM-431C unit, which my PCP thinks well of. It's a
very besic unit, with manual cuff inflation and no history function. I
keep my and my wife's pressure history in my pocket organizer, so I
can share it with him on my visits.

Larry

I've been using them for years, and I've found them to be generally
reliable, if you use them properly.   You should take any monitor to
your next office visit, have them take your blood pressure at least
twice during the visit and also take it with the monitor and see how
they compare.  That way you can calibrate the  the monitor.  If you know
how much it is off, you can continue to  use it.

There are some caveats about taking blood pressure, and sometimes even
doctors or nurses don't go about it right.   First,  you have to wait a
few minutes.   Just getting up and sitting down could raise the systolic
by  5 points or more.   Second, the cuff should be at heart level.  If
it is below heart level, that could raise your systolic by up to 10 pts.
       In my case, I've found it is something like 2 pts on average per
inch, so if the point on the artery where the measurement is made is 4
inches below the heart, the systolic could be almost 10 pts high.   The
usual kind of arrangement with the cuff on your upper arm puts it at
most an inch or two  below hear level, so it may register slightly high
but still be very close.   Wrist monitors which incorporate the cuff in
the device can be way below heart level unless you hold your arm up.

The least expensive monitors require you to listen with a stethoscope on
the artery for your pulse.  The automatic ones do everything for you and
I think they are fully worth the price differential.  Extra features
like memory of previous values can be helpful, but it is not essential.
 You can just keep a log book and write down the values, which you
should do anyway.

There are also monitors which can compensate for irregular heart beat,
which, it turns out, can lead standard monitors to read too low.  I
encountered this problem when I developed premature atrial contractions.
  The condition is more or less innocuous, and eventually it just went
away,  but I kept buying additional monitors figuring that something had
gone wrong with the previous monitor, when it was me all the time.  I
ended up with four monitors by the time I was done.   In the process I
discovered that different monitors can vary by as much as 10 points on
systolic, which is a reason for calibrating the monitor in your doctor's
office.  Keep in mind though, that the doctors and nurses don't usually
get the procedure just right.  In addition, blood pressure can vary
significantly even over a course of five or ten minutes.  Of course
there is also "white coast hypertension",  where your blood pressure
goes up in a medical setting, even if you are not consciously aware of
being anxious.

In taking it at home,  do it twice a day and always at the same time and
in the same way.  Sit down and get set up but wait five minutes before
tightening the cuff and taking the pressure.   You might also spend a
day or two following your blood pressure over the course of a day by
taking it every few hours.   Blood pressure normally varies quite a bit
during the day, the systolic by up to 20 pts.   According to one things
I read, even someone with "normal" 120/80 pressure may at times have a
systolic almost as high as 140.   It can also be affected by eating and
other normal activities.

Discuss this all with your doctor,  but don't be surprised if he/she is
ignorant of the various factors I just mentioned.  A blood pressure
monitor will come with a manual which should explain some of the things
I mentioned.

I have used an Omron wrist monitor for several years.  It is very easy
to use.   If used properly it is very reliable.  Keep the wrist at the
level of the heart!

Burney
RP in 1995 (age 52)
RT in 2000
ADT (Casodex) 10/06 - 8/07
Latest PSA - 0.23