Review: “HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker” for iPad

May

2010

Robert Workman, iPadNewsDaily Contributor
11:18 PM ET

There are some things in life we have to do, even if we don’t want to. Visit the dentist, stop eating certain foods, and watching our health before it gets out of hand. Luckily, the iPad is starting to get some really good applications to help keep track of such things, and “HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker” is amongst the best of them.

The title pretty much says it all. “HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker” keeps records of numerous things for you, including your systolic and diastolic blood pressure, your mean arterial pressure (essentially nailing down your average blood pressure), a resting heart rate and your weight, either in pounds or kilograms. It also keeps track of your body mass index, should you want to watch your figure in the process.

Now, that doesn’t mean you strap your iPad to your wrist to read your pulse rate. Unfortunately, the device isn’t that high-tech…not yet, anyway. Rather, you enter in statistics found out by checking your blood pressure on an actual machine, which you can find at a local pharmacy or doctor’s office. From there, “HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker” keeps these numbers in easy-to-read charts, including spreadsheet forms, giving you the option to share them with your local physicians.

This application won’t be for everyone. If you don’t suffer from blood pressure problems or are still young, this probably won’t find much use on your tablet. However, it’s an essential tool for those who invest the $4.99 into it. Entering your data is very simple, using a touch-screen to accurately input your numbers. The charts are also easy on the eyes, giving you the stats you need rather than filling your head with needless psychobabble. You want to know how you’re doing, now what you could be doing, right?

What’s important here is how your stats are tracked over time. “HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker” keeps track of your progress over weeks and days, so you can see if you’re getting any better or worse. It certainly isn’t a substitute for the doctor’s office (sorry, again, the iPad isn’t that high tech yet), but it really keeps you informed of how good – or bad – you’re doing.

While it is a little costly and, again, not intended for all iPad users, “HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker” earns a recommendation. It’s a fundamental tool that’ll help keep tabs of how you’re eating and when to tone down, while giving you the option to point out important information to your doctor with the push of a few keys.

Price: $4.99

File Size: 5.4 MB

Developer: SwEng Corp.

Platform: iPad

iPadNewsDaily Rating (out of 4): ★★★