A Digital Blood Pressure Monitor You Can Keep Charged and Ready
The Moratech digital blood pressure monitor helps you keep an eye on your blood pressure at home, between clinic visits, without queueing for a reading somebody else writes down and you never see again. It is a fully automatic upper-arm machine, which is the kind blood pressure is properly measured on, and it is rechargeable, so there is no hunting for batteries on the morning you need it.
The upper-arm part matters more than most people are told. A cuff that wraps the upper arm sits at the level of the heart over a large artery, which is how blood pressure has always been measured and how the readings our doctor relies on are taken. Wrist and finger devices are convenient and far less dependable. So whatever you spend, spend it on an upper-arm machine, and this is one.
Getting a Reading Our Doctor Can Use
Most home readings are wrong because of how they were taken rather than because of the machine. Five minutes of care turns a number you half-believe into one our doctor will act on.
Sit down and rest quietly for five minutes first. Empty your bladder beforehand. Leave it at least half an hour after coffee, a cigarette, a heavy meal or exercise. Then sit with your back supported, feet flat on the floor and legs uncrossed, with the cuff on a bare upper arm, the arm resting on a table so the cuff is level with your heart. Stay quiet while it runs, because talking alone pushes the reading up. Take two readings a minute apart and write both down, and come back another time if you are in pain, upset or very hot or cold, because all three change the number.
The Cuff Has to Fit Your Arm
This is the single biggest cause of a wrong reading and it is easy to settle. A cuff that is too small for the arm reads higher than the truth, and one that is too large reads lower, so a person with a larger arm using a standard cuff can be told they have high blood pressure when they do not.
Measure round the middle of your bare upper arm with a tape measure, halfway between the shoulder and the elbow, and send our pharmacist the figure in centimetres before you order. We will confirm that the cuff supplied with this machine covers your arm, and where it falls outside the range we will tell you which machine or which larger cuff to take instead. Please do this even if you have used a home monitor before, since cuff ranges differ between machines.
Home Readings Are Judged Against a Different Line
Home readings run a little lower than clinic readings for most people, because a clinic is a stressful place. That means the numbers are judged against a different line, and a great many people worry unnecessarily by comparing a home reading with a clinic threshold.
For home monitoring, an average at or above 135 over 85 mmHg is the point at which our doctor will want to talk to you about high blood pressure, where in a clinic the figure used is 140 over 90 mmHg. One high reading on its own means very little. What counts is an average over several days, and the way to build one is in the section below.
The Week That Actually Diagnoses Anything
If our doctor has asked you to monitor at home, or you want to know where you really stand, the proper way takes a week and it is worth doing once properly rather than badly for months.
Measure morning and evening at about the same times each day for seven days, and if you are on blood pressure tablets, take the morning reading before you take them. Two readings a minute apart on each occasion. Then throw away the whole of the first day, because first-day readings run high while people get used to the machine, and average everything from days two to seven. That average is the number that means something, and it is the one to bring to us. Write every reading in a notebook with the date and the time, since a page of numbers in your handwriting is worth far more at a consultation than a machine handed across a desk.
What the Numbers Mean, and What to Do With Them
Please bring the readings to our doctor rather than acting on them yourself. Blood pressure tablets are adjusted on a pattern over weeks, and changing a dose or stopping one because of a single reading is how people end up in trouble.
A reading at or above 180 over 120 mmHg is the one to act on immediately. Sit quietly for five minutes and measure again, and if it stays that high, contact us or go to a clinic the same day. If it comes with chest pain, breathlessness, severe headache, weakness or numbness down one side, difficulty speaking or a change in your vision, treat it as an emergency and get to hospital rather than repeating the reading. At the other end, readings much lower than usual with dizziness on standing, faintness or unusual tiredness also want our doctor, since that can be a sign the tablets need adjusting.
Looking After the Machine
Charge it fully before the first use and keep it charged, since a monitor running on a low battery is the one that gets abandoned in a drawer. Keep the cuff and the tubing unkinked and the machine out of direct sun and damp.
Wipe the body with a dry or barely damp cloth and never put any part of it under water. Clean the cuff with a cloth, mild soap and very little water, and let it dry fully before use. Keep it in its case rather than loose in a drawer, because a cuff creased in the same place for months stops wrapping evenly. And bring it in with you at your next visit, so we can compare a reading on it against our own equipment, which is the simplest check there is on whether a home machine is still telling you the truth.
What We Can Honestly Tell You
This is a sensible first home monitor for somebody who wants to check their pressure regularly, and the rechargeable battery is a real convenience in a house where AA batteries go missing. Send us your arm measurement and we will confirm the cuff before anything ships.
Where you want a machine that stores a run of readings and works out the averages for you, which is what the week above really calls for, ask about the Omron monitor with a 100-reading memory. And for the simplest reliable machine we stock, with a five-year warranty behind it, ask about the Omron M1 Basic. Our pharmacist will go through the three with you in a couple of minutes.
Is This Blood Pressure Monitor Right for You?
Please talk to our pharmacist or our doctor before you buy if any of these apply.
- You have not measured your upper arm. Send us the figure in centimetres. A cuff that is too small reads higher than the truth.
- You want to know whether you have high blood pressure. Please do the seven-day week above and bring the average to our doctor, rather than judging it on one reading.
- You are on blood pressure tablets. Bring the readings to us. Doses are adjusted on a pattern over weeks, not on a single number.
- A reading at or above 180 over 120 mmHg. Rest five minutes and measure again, and if it stays there, the same day please.
- Chest pain, breathlessness, severe headache, weakness or numbness down one side, trouble speaking or a change in vision. Hospital, rather than another reading.
- You are pregnant, or you have an irregular pulse, kidney disease or diabetes. Please let our doctor set the targets and the schedule with you.
Where to Buy the Moratech digital blood pressure monitor in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. Everything in this category travels in plain outer packaging with nothing on the outside to say what is inside, and the delivery note carries our name and no product description. At charged and ready a pack covers a known length of time, so tell us how many months you want covered and we will work out the quantity with you before you order.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. Tell us the destination and we will confirm any import paperwork before the parcel leaves us.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. An upper-arm blood pressure monitor is needed every day rather than occasionally, so running out is the thing to plan against. Tell us who it is for, the size and how many months you want covered, and we will set up a standing monthly delivery so nobody is ever caught short.
Why Buy Your the Moratech digital blood pressure monitor from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored. Kahawa Sukari is a real counter with real pharmacists behind it.
Our pharmacists will confirm your upper-arm measurement against the cuff before anything ships, set up the seven-day monitoring week with you, and check a reading on your machine against our own equipment at your next visit. Our doctor is here too if you would rather have the whole question looked at properly.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Your Questions About This Digital Blood Pressure Monitor, Answered
Is this an upper-arm or a wrist monitor?
Upper arm, which is the kind blood pressure is properly measured on. Wrist and finger devices are convenient and far less dependable.
How do I know the cuff will fit me?
Measure round the middle of your bare upper arm, halfway between shoulder and elbow, and send our pharmacist the figure. We will confirm it before anything ships.
Why does cuff size matter so much?
A cuff too small for the arm reads higher than the truth and one too large reads lower. It is the single biggest cause of a wrong home reading.
How should I sit when taking a reading?
Rest five minutes first, then back supported, feet flat, legs uncrossed, cuff on a bare upper arm resting on a table at heart level. Stay quiet while it runs.
What should I avoid beforehand?
Coffee, cigarettes, a heavy meal and exercise for at least half an hour, and empty your bladder first.
How many readings should I take?
Two, a minute apart, and write both down. One reading on its own means very little.
What counts as high at home?
An average at or above 135 over 85 mmHg is the point our doctor will want to discuss it with you. The clinic figure is 140 over 90 mmHg, because clinics push readings up.
How do I work out a proper average?
Morning and evening at the same times for seven days, two readings each time, then discard the whole first day and average days two to seven.
Should I take readings before or after my tablets?
Take the morning reading before them, and keep to the same pattern each day.
My reading is very high. What should I do?
Rest quietly for five minutes and measure again. If it stays at or above 180 over 120 mmHg, contact us or go to a clinic the same day.
When is it an emergency?
A high reading with chest pain, breathlessness, severe headache, weakness or numbness down one side, trouble speaking or a change in vision. Hospital, rather than another reading.
Can I adjust my own tablets using the readings?
Please bring them to our doctor instead. Doses are adjusted on a pattern over weeks, and changing one on a single reading is how people get into trouble.
How do I clean and store it?
Dry or barely damp cloth on the body, never under water, cuff wiped with mild soap and very little water and dried fully, then kept in its case.
Where can I buy Moratech Blood Pressure Monitor in Kenya, and what does it cost?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. The current price is shown above. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request. Send your upper-arm measurement in centimetres, and tell us whether our doctor has asked you to monitor at home.
