We recommend currently available blood pressure monitors with a CHOICE Expert Rating of at least 75%, and have been validated by a medical research organisation.

The CHOICE Expert Rating is based on ease of use.

Accuracy on a five-star scale, as tested and rated by Medaval. If no score is present, this is a model we've previously tested, so it will instead have an accuracy score based off of our in-house assessments. The higher the better.

We test the accuracy of each blood pressure monitor against a recently calibrated hospital-grade blood pressure monitor. If no score is present we have been able to defer to Medaval's accuracy results.

Includes instructions, ease of fitting and operating the monitor, comfort, screen quality and the information displayed on the screen.

This evaluates fitting the cuff and operating the monitor.

How comfortable the blood pressure monitor is, including whether it takes too long to take a reading when the monitor is creating pressure, causing discomfort.

How large the screen is and whether it provides easy-to-read results.

The amount and quality of information the monitor provides to the user.

This defines what is still available in the market. When a product is listed as discontinued, we can't find it to purchase anywhere in Australia or online. When listed as a Tested model, these are still available.

This is the manufacturer's recommended retail price, but you can often get a better price by shopping around.

We only recommend blood pressure monitors that have been validated by medical research.

The margin of error as claimed by the manufacturer. This is consistent across the monitors we tested, but real-world accuracy may vary. We recommend taking your monitor to your GP to compare its accuracy against a clinical grade monitor, then calibrating or making allowances accordingly.

Some monitors can store separate data for two or more users, so a household can all use the one monitor.

The country of origin of the blood pressure monitor.

An on-screen alert if your heart rate has some disturbance.

Does the device, manual or documentation define what an irregular heartbeat means, as well as its causes and implications?

A hypertension warning displays on the screen if your blood pressure is too high – a good prompt to visit your GP.

Does the device, manual or documentation define what an hypertension means, as well as its causes and implications?