Beurer BM 55

This two-piece monitor is exceptionally well designed for easy reading. Huge black LCD digits appear on a bright white background and a single button starts your test. It can store the most recent 60 readings for each of two users – handy for couples – and the machine itself is easy to set up. Connecting it to a Windows PC via USB is trickier, but means you can get full use out of it with the Beurer Healthmanager software even if you don’t have a smartphone or tablet.

If you do have a mobile device, choose the BM 57 (£53 from www.snipca. com/25868), which connects to an app via Bluetooth. In our tests, the BM 55 worked quickly and gave accurate results. It also warns you if you have an irregular heartbeat, which can be an early sign of problems. These are rare, but older people with hypertension (high blood pressure) are more at risk. Note, though, that if you do have arrythmia, an oscillometric meter can’t be guaranteed to record your blood pressure accurately.