Daily usage and efficiency of remote home monitoring in hypertensive patients over a one-year period

Abstract

We evaluated daily self-monitored blood pressure (BP) data collected over one year using remote home monitoring. Fifty treated, moderately hypertensive subjects (26 males, mean age 50 years; 17 females, mean age 54 years; seven exclusions) were recruited for the study in which semi-automatic arm-cuff BP measurement devices were used. The daily self-monitoring regimen had two phases of usage: one of initial enthusiasm (the first one to two months) followed by a phase of lower usage (89% versus 64%, P<0.01). Monitoring was missed more often (P<0.01) during weekends (7.3 instances per patient) compared with workdays (5.0). Lack of motivation was not considered to be a major barrier. Approximately half of the study population was willing to continue the trial at the end of the one-year study. The occurrence of extreme BP values dropped significantly after the initial study month (P=0.02). In conclusion, routine remote BP monitoring is capable of collecting consistent and accurate data, with sufficient sensitivity to reveal trends.