This Mother's Day, Give a Gift to Protect What Matters Most: Her Health

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- For busy mothers who take care of everyone around them, finding time to manage their most important asset -- health -- can be quite a challenge. The American Heart Association reports that heart disease is the number-one killer of women, yet few American women are aware of the danger heart disease poses, or the increased risk of strokes and heart attacks caused by high blood pressure, physical inactivity and obesity. With Mother's Day quickly approaching, Omron Healthcare is offering Moms easy-to-use products to proactively monitor their health status and activity levels to help reduce these risk factors and stay healthy for a lifetime.

"There's no better way to show our mothers how much we care than by looking out for their health," said Charles J. Dushman, director of retail marketing at Omron Healthcare. "Omron Healthcare's most advanced products make it easy for mothers to take a proactive role in combating the major risk factors associated with heart disease and stroke."

Closely Monitor: High Blood Pressure/Morning Hypertension

Relatively unknown to most consumers, morning hypertension -- the name given to a spike in blood pressure in the morning -- has been shown to significantly increase the risk of stroke by as much as three times. Omron Healthcare created a first-of-its-kind blood pressure monitor (a new and improved model HEM-780) to enable typical mothers, and those suffering from general hypertension, to better detect and monitor for this potentially deadly condition. The American Heart Association identifies an upper limit of normal blood pressure reading as 135 mm Hg systolic and 85 mm Hg diastolic. The morning hypertension symbol is displayed on the HEM-780 if a user's average first morning reading for a week is above 135 for the systolic value and/or 85 for the diastolic value. The HEM-780 is available on local drugstore shelves and online and retails for approximately $99.

Take Action Against: Physical Inactivity

Omron's clinically proven accurate new pedometer (model HJ-720ITC) is a motivational product for mothers to achieve and maintain healthy lifestyle changes. Activity statistics are displayed on the screen and can be directly downloaded to a PC, where the data is organized into easy-to-read graphs to chart progress over time. The HJ-720ITC, like its sister pedometer (HJ-112), not only accurately measures the number of steps taken, distance walked, and calories and fat burned, but also calculates the number of aerobic steps a user takes. Aerobic steps are defined as walking for more than 60 steps per minute, and for more than 10 minutes continuously. Unlike other pedometers, the HJ-720ITC operates using dual acceleration sensor technology, which means that in addition to being clipped to a belt, it can function while conveniently placed in a pocket or a purse. The HJ-720ITC is available on major online shopping sites and retails for approximately $49.

Keep Tabs On: Excess Body Fat

A growing body of research suggests that visceral fat -- deep underlying fat in the abdomen surrounding a person's vital organs -- may be a greater predictor of heart disease and diabetes than simple weight or body mass index (BMI). Omron's uniquely accurate total body monitoring scale (model HBF-500) measures this dangerous fat in addition to displaying resting metabolism and skeletal muscle mass levels -- which are both helpful indicators for mothers to use when determining appropriate calorie intake and amount of exercise. The HBF-500 scale also takes more common measurements such as body fat percentage, weight and BMI for a total picture of health. The HBF-500 is available on major online shopping sites and retails for approximately $99.

For additional information on any of the above mentioned products, please visit http://www.omronhealthcare.com/ .

About Omron Healthcare

Omron Healthcare, Inc., located in Bannockburn, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago, is the North and South American subsidiary of Omron Healthcare group. A leading manufacturer and distributor of blood pressure monitors for home use, Omron Healthcare group is a market leader in blood pressure monitoring with over 70 million of its monitors sold worldwide to date. Omron Healthcare is committed to offering clinically proven, innovative weight management and thermometry products and devices for use in treatment of respiratory conditions, all with the aim of helping people achieve greater compliance and quality of life. With the April 2006 acquisition of Colin Medical Instruments Corporation, a leader in blood pressure monitoring products for hospitals, clinics, and physician offices, Omron Healthcare has a unique position as a company offering a wide array of medical devices for use in sites ranging from hospitals to the home. For more information, visit http://www.omronhealthcare.com/ and for Colin products, visit http://www.colinmedical.com/ .

  Contact:

  Lila Trickle
  Edelman
  (312)-233-1218
  lila.trickle@edelman.com