Omron BP742N 5 Series Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor Review

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The Omron BP742N 5 Series Blood Pressure Monitor is supplied with a cuff that fits upper arms from 9″ to 17″ in circumference.

Features include irregular heart beat detection, hypertension indicator bar, and clear systolic and diastolic readings via the large LCD screen. Up to 100 readings can be stored in memory for 2 users.

But how does it compare to some of the top rated Omron devices, such as the 7 Series and 10 Series?

In our review, we’ll take a close look at the design features, ease of use, accuracy, and customer feedback. This is to decide whether the Omron 5 Series (BP742N) is the best home blood pressure monitor for you.

Design Features

The Omron BP742N Blood Pressure Monitor uses the oscillometric method of blood pressure measurement. This means there are sensors that detect the movement of blood through your brachial artery and convert the result into a digital reading.

An alternative would be the auscultatory method. This is where you still wear a cuff, but a trained healthcare provider uses a sphygmomanometer and listens for the Korotkoff sounds using a stethoscope. The problem with this is that you’re relying on each doctor or nurse that you see applying the same technique, which isn’t always the case.

By using the Omron 5 Series at home yourself, you can guarantee that you’ve followed the same steps at the same time of day. This also allows you to minimize any external factors that could influence the reading.

The LCD screen displays your systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, and blood pressure level (high, low, or normal).

There’s also a ‘movement error’ symbol, which activates if your body moves too much when measuring your blood pressure. Unfortunately, there’s no positioning indicator like you get with the Series 7 Wrist monitor, which prompts you to raise or lower the cuff position until it’s level with your heart.

Irregular heartbeat detection is another feature worth mentioning. If an irregular rhythm is detected more than twice when you’re taking a reading, the irregular heartbeat symbol is displayed on screen.

Battery Life and AC Adapters

Omron’s Upper Arm blood pressure monitors always have a longer battery life than their wrist monitors. That’s because they use 4 ‘AA’ batteries instead of 2 ‘AAA’, which means they have a battery life of 1000 measurements, compared to 300 with the wrist devices.

You’re also unable to charge using an AC adapter if you buy one of the wrist BPMs.

Fortunately, the Omron BP742N 5 Series has an AC adapter jack so you can plug the monitor directly into an electrical outlet for power.

Upgraded Features Compared to Omron 3 Series

The most obvious upgrade is the memory. You can now choose from two different user profiles, which isn’t a feature of the 3 Series.

Each user profile can store up to 50 readings, compared to just 14 readings for 1 user with the Omron 3 Series.

Another upgrade you can enjoy with the 5 Series is the averaging option. This is where you can take 3 readings within 10 minutes and display the average, which isn’t possible with the 3 Series.

One final upgrade is the blood pressure level indicator we mentioned earlier. Unless you’re already familiar with what your results mean, it can be difficult to know whether your blood pressure is high, low, or normal. This new indicator bar makes it easy.

Accuracy and Ease of Use

10 Tips For Accurate Readings

1. Keep your body as still as possible while the monitor is taking a reading
2. No exercise, smoking, or caffeine within 30 minutes of measuring your blood pressure
3. Have at least 15 minutes of rest before measurements
4. Sit in a solid chair (not sofa or soft cushions), with your back straight and supported
5. Keep your legs uncrossed and feet flat on the floor
6. Rest your arm on a flat horizontal surface, with your upper arm at heart level
7. All clothing covering the cuff location should be removed
8. Ensure the room is a comfortable temperature
9. Measure at the same time every day
10. Take three readings, each one minute apart. The built-in memory will automatically store the results, then calculate and display the average

Click here to view the Omron 5 Series (BP742N) Upper Arm BPM User Manual

What Arm Cuff Size Do I Need?

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is the national association of family doctors, and was founded in 1947 to promote high quality standards for family doctors.

It’s one of the largest national medical organizations in the world, with 129,000 members across the U.S. and internationally.

The AAFP has the following recommendations for choosing a blood pressure cuff size:
Adults

Children (by age)*

*A standard adult cuff, large adult cuff, and thigh cuff should be available for use in measuring a child’s leg blood pressure and for children with larger arms

Warranty

Warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship, when used in accordance with the instructions provided with the monitor. The above warranty extends only to the original purchaser.

Who Are Omron?

Omron Corporation is an electronics company based in Kyoto, Japan. Originally established by Kazuma Tateishi in 1933, Omron create everything from automotive electronics and energy efficiency solutions, through to machines for industrial automation.

The key Omron principles are to improve lives and contribute to a better society, through respect for all and innovation driven by social needs.

They also have a healthcare division, known as Omron Healthcare. This area of the business focusses on three fields of lifestyle diseases, respiratory diseases, and health promotion.

Some of their bestselling healthcare products include blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, nebulizers, and digital thermometers.

Many of these devices already have thousands of highly rated reviews on Amazon, and they’re renowned for their excellent customer service.

What Do Other Reviews Say?

An important part of any BPM review is to consider the feedback from other people who have bought and used the device in their own home.

How easy was it to take a reading? Did they have a good experience with customer service? Was the reading accurate, and how comfortable was the cuff?

But reading through hundreds or even thousands of reviews can be time consuming.

That’s why we did the leg work for you.

Listed below you’ll find a summary of the pros and cons for the Omron 5 Series Upper Arm BPM, based on direct customer feedback.

Pros:

Cons: