Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

Abstract

Hypertension is the most common preventable cause of cardiovascular disease. Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) is a self-monitoring tool that can be incorporated into the care for patients with hypertension and is recommended by major guidelines. A growing body of evidence supports the benefits of patient HBPM compared with office-based monitoring: these include improved control of BP, diagnosis of white-coat hypertension and prediction of cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, HBPM is cheaper and easier to perform than 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM). All HBPM devices require validation, however, as inaccurate readings have been found in a high proportion of monitors. New technology features a longer inflatable area within the cuff that wraps all the way round the arm, increasing the ‘acceptable range’ of placement and thus reducing the impact of cuff placement on reading accuracy, thereby overcoming the limitations of current devices.