How to Monitor Your Blood Pressure at Home

When I was a kid, I thought that high blood pressure was a condition that only affected people who made egregious lifestyle choices. This is not true. Since 1990, the incidence of hypertension has increased globally, with up to one in three adults worldwide affected by it.

Most of those people have no idea they have it. If people could diagnose and monitor hypertension at home, the World Health Organization estimates that up to 76 million lives could be saved with easy fixes, like stopping smoking or adjusting diet. In the past year, it's gotten much easier to monitor your blood pressure at home. Our top pick is the traditional Withings BPM Vision ($180), which offers tabletop, medical-grade results. Withings also offers Cardio Check-Up, an electrocardiogram review service available through the app that works with the company's ECG-enabled devices.

If you've been diagnosed with hypertension, you should ...