At a Glance: Quick Ratings
Memory Store for BP Readings
Comfortable in Use
Ease of Use
Battery Life
Where To Get It
A Deep Dive Into Omron M10-IT BP
The Omron M10-IT Blood Pressure Monitor with comfortable dual sized arm cuff has been reviewed by Tristan Haskins. The M10-IT is one of the best selling blood pressure monitors for home use. The M10-IT allows 2 x users to each store up to 84 Blood Pressure readings helping identify improvements in blood pressure over time. It features a large, easy to read, LCD display with diastolic, systolic and pulse readings.
Video Review
This Omron M10-IT is perfect for a couple looking to monitor Blood Pressure improvements over time. It’s dual user feature with 84 reading memory and dual size cuff make it the obvious choice for a couple. The Omron brand have been producing digital blood pressure monitors for decades and their accuracy and reliability is world renowned. The M10-IT is clinically certified and validated to give you assurance and confidence in accurate blood pressure readings. Regularly recording your blood pressure and understanding the readings can help avoid heart attack, stroke and other serious health issues.
Main Features and Functions
- Easy to Use
- Fully Automatic
- 2 x User function with 84 readings stored to memory for each user with time and date stamp
- Features Omron’s Intellisense technology for ease of use and accuracy
- All-in-one dual-sized comfort cuff to accommodate both medium and large arm circumferences ranging between 22 – 42 cm
- Auto mode – automatically takes three measurements and provides an average of the three
- Clinically validated (as are all Omron BP monitors)
- Power – 4 x AA batteries
Buttons and Display
With large clear digits the M10-IT is easy to read at any angle. The upper line shows your Systolic BP (the higher pressure reading when the heart is beating). The next line down shows Diastolic BP (the pressure when the system is at rest). After that we can see the Pulse rate in BPM (beats per minute). On the right hand side their is a physical switch allowing users to swap between USER A and USER B. You may also notice the MOON and SUN buttons. This is to enable the identification of BP readings whether taken in the morning or the evening, useful when monitoring trends.
External Packaging
The M10-IT comes in a strong cardboard box that can be kept as a storage box for the BP monitor.
Side View
The M10-IT has been designed to sit on a flat surface with the LED display angled for optimal display intensity and ease of reading. The dual sized wrist duff can be rolled up for easy storage.
If you are interested in electrocardiogram devices, I have reviewed some of the best value for money ECG / EKG devices including the brilliant Kardia Mobile. Detecting an abnormal ECG pattern, in particular AFIB (Atrial Fibrillation), significantly helps to reduce the chance of suffering a stroke
Why buy an Omron blood pressure monitor?
Clinically validated
Every OMRON blood pressure monitor is tested for accuracy against the clinical guidelines for measuring blood pressure that are specified by the European Society of Hypertension. A clinically validated monitor means that it has undergone tests conducted by independent doctors according to a predetermined protocol, which includes ensuring the accuracy of the measurements (algorithm) of the blood pressure monitors.
Intellisense technology
OMRON Intellisense is an advanced technology for blood pressure measurement. An Intellisense monitor inflates the cuff to the ideal level for each use, meaning that each reading has a personalised inflation level that is right for the user.
A Bit about Blood Pressure Monitors
All those with an interest in their health and wellness should know what their Blood Pressure is. It is also important that you have an understanding of what the numbers mean. Having a BP that is either too HIGH (hypertension) or too LOW (hypotension) is not something you can really feel or notice yourself. However, the long term affects of a high blood pressure can lead to life threatening issues like heart attack and stroke (ref¹). Low blood pressure, although not as serious, can lead to episodes of dizziness or even fainting.
All the blood pressure monitors reviewed on this website provide medically certified blood pressure readings with accurate diastolic and systolic readings. Your systolicblood pressure is the highest level your blood pressure reaches when your heart beats. Your diastolic blood pressure is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats.
Understanding Blood Pressure Readings
Optimal BP
Ideally, we want to record a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80). As the chart shows below this is considered OPTIMAL blood pressure. People with a BP below 120/80 have a much lower risk of heart disease or stroke.
Normal – High BP
Unfortunately, most adults have a blood pressure above this OPTIMAL level. A majority of adults have a blood pressure in between NORMAL and HIGH-NORMAL (shown in the chart below). That is those with a BP from 120/80 to 140/90. If your blood pressure is within this range you should look at ways of reducing it. These changes can relate to general lifestyle eg. taking more exercise, reducing alcohol consumption and eating more fruit and vegetables.
Hypertension – Grade 1 to 3
A blood pressure reading with a systolic reading over 140 and a diastolic reading over 90 can be considered to be High Blood Pressure. If you have successive readings which consistently read in this HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE zone you should make an appointment to see your GP or nurse.
Summary of Blood Pressure Ranges
The chart below shows the most widely used 6 x levels of blood pressure. The BP zones can be summarized thus:
- Grade 3 – Severe Hypertension > BP = 180+/110+
- Grade 2 – Severe Hypertension > BP = 160+/100+
- Grade 1 – Severe Hypertension > BP = 140+/90+
- High – normal > BP = 130+/85+
- Normal > BP = 120+/80+
- Optimal > BP = under 120/80
Customer Reviews
The Omron M10-IT Blood Pressure monitor currently has over 1,600 reviews on Amazon. Of these more than 99% are 4 star reviews or above. When you buy this M10-IT you can rest assured you are investing in a high quality, value for money product
Extract of a genuine customer review
The Omron M10-IT is a small upper-arm blood pressure monitor that works using the oscillometric system. This system uses an inflatable cuff that fits around the upper arm and which is pumped up using air until blood flow (as measured using a pressure sensor within the body of the monitor) is cut off. Pressure in the cuff is reduced until blood flow is sensed, then further reduced in stages until the measurements are complete. This enables pulse rate, systolic and diastolic pressures to be determined. These values are then displayed on the LCD.
The instrument can be set to make a single measurement or a set of 3; if a set of 3 is set, the time interval between measurements can be set.
A very useful feature of this instrument is that it can be used to measure and store details for two individuals: a slide switch is used to select user A or user B. A guest facility is also available which enables measurements to be made without being stored.The stored values can be uploaded to a PC for logging and recording purposes. Software is provided for uploading, displaying and analyzing data.The manual that accompanies the monitor is very good as it describes the features of the monitor but also specifies the best way to take blood-pressure readings – left arm preferred, cuff positioned on the upper arm about 2cm up from the elbow and on a level with the heart, pressure hose in line with the middle finger, etc.
The instrument is supplied in a zip-up black soft case, with unit, cuff, software, upload lead, batteries and manual, for an amazingly low price.
Any disadvantages? Well, the cuff can be a little uncomfortable as it squeezes the arm to cut off the blood supply for a short time at the beginning of the measurement sequence. This is the way the instrument operates but it is safe and it takes very little time to get used to.
Review Summary
One of the best selling blood pressure monitors of the last 8 years. The Omron M10-IT has some great features that make it a best seller. Dual user means it’s great for couples. Each user is allocated 84 slots in memory so both users can review their BP over time. It also comes with a Dual size upper arm cuff. This dual sized cuff will accommodate arm circumferences from 22cm to 42cm.
The Omron M10-IT, like all Omron blood pressure monitors, is clinically certified for peace of mind and reliable, accurate readings. With over 1,600 customers providing an average 4.6/5 star review on Amazon. The Omron M10-IT comes highly recommended.
