Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 21, 2025 For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net Savvy Senior by Jim Miller How to Choose and Use a Home Blood Pressure Monitor Dear Savvy Senior, Can you offer me any tips on choosing and using a home blood pressure monitor? I just found out I have high blood pressure and my doctor recommended I get a home monitor so I can keep tabs on it. Just Turned 63 Dear 63, Everyone with high blood pressure (130/80 or higher) should have a home blood pressure monitor. Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure in a comfortable setting. Plus, if you’re taking medication it will make certain it’s working, and alert you to a health problem if it arises. Here are some top-rated blood pressure monitors to consider along with some tips to help ensure you take an accurate reading. Best Monitors The most accurate and easiest to use home blood pressure monitors today are electric/battery powered automatic arm monitors, which are more reliable than wrist or fingertip monitors. With an automatic arm monitor, you simply wrap the cuff around your bicep and with the push of one button the cuff inflates and deflates automatically giving you your blood pressure reading on the display window in a matter of seconds. Many automatic monitors also come with additional features such as irregular heartbeat detection that checks for arrhythmias and other abnormalities; a risk category indicator that tells you whether your blood pressure is in the high range; a data-averaging function that allows you to take multiple readings and get an overall average; multiple user memory that allows two or more users to save their readings; and downloadable memory that lets you transmit your data to your smartphone or computer. The top five automatic arm monitors as recommended by Consumer Reports for 2025 are the Omron Platinum BP5450 ($90), Omron 10 Series BP7450 ($70), Omron Evolv BP7000 ($70), A&D Medical UA767F ($55), and Omron 3 Series BP7100 ($55). And the top wrist monitors are the Omron 7 Series BP6350 ($55) and the Equate (Walmart) 4500 Series ($40). You can purchase these blood pressure monitors at pharmacies, medical supply stores or online and you don’t need a prescription to buy one. Prices, however, will vary slightly depending on where you buy. How to Measure After you buy your monitor, it’s a good idea to take it to your doctor’s office so they can check its accuracy and make sure you’re using it properly. Here are some additional steps to follow to ensure you get accurate measurements at home. Be still: Don’t exercise, smoke or drink caffeinated drinks or alcohol for at least 30 minutes before measuring. Empty your bladder and ensure at least 5 minutes of quiet rest before measurements. Sit correctly: Sit with your back straight and supported (on a dining chair, rather than a sofa). Your feet should be flat on the floor and your legs should not be crossed. Your arm should be supported on a flat surface (such as a table) with the upper arm at heart level. Make sure the middle of the cuff is placed directly above the bend of the elbow. Check your monitor’s instructions for an illustration. Don’t measure over cloths: Put the cuff directly on your bare skin. Putting it over clothes can raise your systolic (upper) number by up to 40 mmHg. Measure at the same time: It’s important to take the readings at the same time each day, such as in the morning before taking medications, or evening before dinner. Take multiple readings: Each time you measure, take at least two readings one minute apart and record the results. For more information on high blood pressure numbers and how to accurately measure it at home, visit Heart.org/HBP. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 7 Maine. The smell of salt lingers in the air, mixed with freshly cut grass and the distant sound of waves slapping against the rocky shore. It’s the kind of crisp morning that makes a body feel lucky to be alive. And then, like something out of a dream, there they stand. Jimmy “Stinger” Cahill, with his easy swagger and a heart too big for his chest. Paul DiPietro, who now calls FLA home, but rest assured, Maldonia flows in his veins. Tommy “Fudd” Proctor, a man who’s seen and done enough to fill three lifetimes but still takes his drives with a twinkle in his eye (I think that’s a twinkle!). Then, the legend himself – Sandy Koufax – a name spoken in baseball circles with the kind of reverence reserved for gods and ghosts (ever see Joe Levine’s classic Sandy Koufax baseball jersey? Wicked cool!). And rounding out this unlikely fivesome? Former President George W. Bush, a man BASKETBALL | FROM PAGE 15 den's turn to take a nap in the second. Lowell woke up bigtime in the third quarter while Malden snoozed, outscoring the hosts, 12-4 and making it a lot closer, trailing by just two possessions, 29-23, heading into the final period. Malden managed just two buckets — one each by Ebenezer and senior Kimberly Tropnas— as Lowell surged to turn a potential blowout into a nailbiter. While Lowell kept coming hard in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 29-29 with 3:11 to play, the Raiders never managed to take the lead, due to some continued board pounding by Ebenezer and a clutch one-step layup after an offensive rebound by Exilhomme to give Malden a 31-29 lead it would never relinquish with 2:47 to play in the game. Ebenezer, though her scoring dipped in the second half, kept it up with her defense and rebounding right down to the final buzzer. On one crucial play, with Malden clinging to the 31-29 lead and the clock showing just under 2 minutes to play, Ebenezer who’s sat in the most powerful seat in the world, but on this day, is just another guy gripping a club, chasing that perfect shot. They shake hands. They share a laugh. Maybe there’s a story about a game long ago, maybe someone brings up that time Stinger nearly missed an entire round because he got caught up in a conversation with the starter. And for a moment – just a flicker in time – these five men, from different worlds but somehow cut from the same cloth, connect. Not in the way some dusty, old history books document, but in the way that really matters. No bar stools, no press, no ceremony. Just a quiet golf course, the rhythm of the game and five souls crossing paths under the Maine sky. —Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@ aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms. blocked the shot of Lowell's high scorer Quinn McDonald and the ball bounced out to the right sideline. Lowell's Alexis Velezquez appeared ready to save it from going out of bounds and secure the ball, but Malden's Ebenezer stayed with the play by diving for the loose ball, twisting in midair and tipping it ahead to teammate Ina Tolete, who dribbled it downcourt and passed to Tropnas. Tropnas shot, missed, Exilhomme grabbed another offensive rebound and after a miss herself, rebounded again and put perhaps the biggest Malden basket ofthe night off the glass and in for her second field goal of the quarter, extending Malden's lead to 3329. Lowell would never get any closer. For the night, Ebenezer led all scorers with 16 points for Malde, to go along with 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Exilhomme had 8 points and 11 rebounds. Ina Tolete scored two huge three-pointers for 6 points all together for the game, one each in the first two quarters. Kim Tropnas scored 4 points and Olivia Rodrigues scored 2 points,
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