The gold standard is 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. If you do a search these have come down in price with some starting as low as $140. The pattern is important, if you fail to have the normal nocturnal dip of 10-20% drop in BP that is a worse prognosis. The last time I heard, these were costing $1200, but now seeing much better deals.
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I’d need to see the data on this device as standard wrist bp monitors have significant issues with accuracy. This device might be better. The one I saw today on eBay under $150 is FDA approved, but it is bulky and lacks the convenience of the one you shared.
I guess there is also the issue of getting to the US. Are there vendors who will send it, and if so, what does it cost?
Just ordered this from Amazon as will work well for my wife and I to periodically do 24 hr BP monitoring. $179. Not as elegant as the Aktiaa. I’ll get an Aktiaa when they release it in the U.S. and compare the two.
Dr. Mark Houston, who is a state of the art Cardiologist in assessing/reversing CAD doesn’t accept spot checks - need 24 hours of data to really understand what needs to be done on the BP side of things. It’s an area where most of us are using spot checks when we are calm, awake, etc … to get a real sense of what your blood vessels are seeing in regard to pressure, a 24 hour ambulatory is necessary.
Beth
#11
I read it’s expected to be available in the US in 2025.
I was tempted to sneak the Aktiia to the US when I first learned about it on an Attia podcast, but the issue was knowing how to get the app on the US App Store. There was a potential workaround, but that was way above my pay grade.
Yes @DrFraser there are reshipping services in the UK that you can have it shipped to, then they will reship to you.
Its also available in Canada already (so perhaps talk to a friend in Canada and have them mail it to you, or there may be reshipping companies there that do this too):
I have to believe its not that difficult to get the app downloaded (at least for Google, where you can “side load” the app via USB cable, I think). Apple is harder as they have more of a “lock” on how the App Store functions.
Details on how to load apps from different countries here: Has Anyone Seen a Rise in Blood Pressure Using Rapamycin? - #239 by RapAdmin
@adssx and @ageless64 and @scta123 do you recommend this product, from your experience with it? On a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being “awesome” how would you rate it?
Adssx, Any updates since your review here: Optimal Blood Pressure we Should Target? Systolic Under 110 or 100? - #209 by adssx
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Beth
#13
If we hear it’s an awesome 10, I’ll run the apple ‘workaround’ idea by someone who should know how doable it is.
EDIT:
Also, @Stephen_King any updates since your post attached here. Did you use it yet?
Also, I see I asked a while back and @John_Hemming said he tried it but didn’t feel it was accurate enough.
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Hi I think the Evolv is the same one. Very happy with mine. I didnt want a wrist one (tried about 5 different monitors out in the pharmacy and this was ideal for me plus HBF would not cover ambulatory- wrist/smartwatch).
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I am very thin and bloodwork all good. No reason for it to be high. I have no idea how to lower it tbh. Will talk to doctor next week on. If anyone has any tips I would be grateful. I do take magnesium and a few other supps. I do l light exercise -swimming in sea, walking every day.
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jnorm
#16
I’ve got this one and I don’t recommend it. Gives an error way too often, and lately the readings have been all over the place.
Been concerning me lately because my BP lately is often either elevated with normal RHR or low with elevated RHR. Tonight it clocked my pulse at 162 (BP 102/68), so I did a manual check and it was 66 with a steady rhythm. So I think the RHR>100 readings it’s given me over the past couple week were mostly BS.
Not sure if I can trust the BP readings at this point, I’ll have to see if I can recalibrate it. I’m about 15 weeks into a testosterone cycle so it would be nice to have some reliable data. Been taking telmisartan for the past month so I just chalked the low BP readings up to that, but the elevated pulse was concerning. No symptoms of low BP at least.
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I live in Australia and had a look. Mixed reviews on Amazon but I still would like the convenience of wrist:
https://www.amazon.com.au/product-reviews/B0BH4NLN4W/
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I have an aktiia, and have been pleased with it. I live in the US, and got it through German relatives (with a little tinkering, it’s fairly easy to get the app in the US). Aktiia plans to release a US version this year.
It is calibrated against a std cuff and is reasonably accurate, especially averaged over 24 hrs. This was discussed in previous threads on this site and one of the critiques is that its overnight readings can be inaccurate. However, this small downside is offset in my opinion by it’s ease of use and ability to observe trends (similar to a CGM that is also less accurate than a blood draw, but useful for observing trends).
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Here’s the 24 hr accuracy paper
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Wish I could get this in Australia!
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Beth
#21
Did you by chance get the app to work on an iPhone?
Thx!
adssx
#22
Aktiia is good but not great. Several papers (by independent researchers and by the Aktiia team) showed that the nighttime values were incorrect. However the daily and 24h averages are okay if you average over a week.
Two family members use it and are happy with it.
It’s helpful when you introduce a new antihypertensive. It might also be good to check once in a while. But if you only want to check once in a while (let’s say once a year) then buying an FDA approved 24h ABPM is the gold standard, as suggested by @DrFraser.
Conclusion: if you can access it (Europe or Canada), if you have the money and if you have elevated BP then go for it. If not: better to wait or better devices.
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No, I have an Android device. It may trickier on Apple.
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It sounds as though this is a good device for averages. However, for individuals who have hypertension, as the nighttime pattern is very important to assessing risk from the hypertension, I’d still want a standard 24 hr ambulatory. I just purchased one with all 3 cuff sizes and software, with tax/delivered $190. Went with the Contec ABPM50. I think all my patients with hypertension should have one an periodically monitor to make sure their is good control and also stategize in taking meds - for example, if no overnight dip, take all meds at bedtime and retest.
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Beth
#25
I have put the iPhone question out to someone who can advise, and if it’s possible, I’ll order an Aktiia for my husband and I to share (I have good bp, so aside from a random spot check, I’m probably fine to mostly do without).
I imagine the Contec for humans is good, and you might already have experience with them, but I’ll just share bought their pet version and the readings were very dissimilar to the $$$ monitor I borrowed from my vet. The price point was much lower than the one you purchased which might explain the quality difference. And of course, I possibly received a dud.
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Hi Beth
Yes I have started to use it over the last week. For me I would say
Pros: Fits really well, small size and battery still OK after a week.
The app logs BP every 2 hours by taking a number of readings and then averaging. Mine takes between 1-3 and occasionally misses, reading the notes this is most likely due to me moving too much or exercise etc. You then get a daily, weekly and monthly average. So lots of averages !
Cons: The app is slightly flaky on android, some text gets overwritten and I have had to force stop a couple of times when it created pop ups that could not be closed
It’s supplied with a cuff to calibrate the device on a monthly basis. I initially did this when I was a bit cold and I think it had a negative impact on the results as they seemed a bit high. I did another calibration and the results are getting closer to my results on my Omron cuff.
Not sure about accuracy mine seems to be reading high but would want to see over a month. I would tend to agree with the other posters
The initial thread was about Rapamycin increasing BP. When looking at my manual Omron Cuff readings it does look like my BP has increased after taking 6mg with olive oil every week
Average before: 124/79 pulse 60 (min 98/58 54) (max 146/90 62) n=66
Average after: 130/82 pulse 61(min 111/68 56) (max 156/111 79) n=62
This is why I bought the Attia. I have now stopped the rapamycin to see if I can get a baseline I can trust.
Hope this helps
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