Home monitoring, Web-based tool dramatically improves BP control

Washington, May 21 (ANI): A tool developed by a pharmacist and supported by the American Heart Association's Heart 360 website, that can be used at home by patients to monitor blood pressure levels has shown great results for patients with uncontrolled hypertension, according to a study.

More than 350 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, ages 18 to 85 years, and with Internet access were randomised to the Usual Care (UC) group or the HBPM group.

All patients had their blood pressure measured in the clinic at the start of the study and at six months.

The HBPM group used the Heart 360 to transmit home blood pressure readings via the Internet to clinical pharmacy specialists, who made adjustments to patients' antihypertensive medications based on proven protocols.

At the start of the study, the average systolic blood pressure was 149 mm Hg in the HBPM group and 145 mm Hg in the UC group.

At six months, a significantly greater proportion of patients in the HBPM group had their blood pressure controlled to healthy levels (58 percent) compared to the UC group (38 percent).

Similarly, a significantly greater decrease in systolic blood pressure at six months occurred in the HBPM group (-21 mm Hg) versus the UC group (-9 mm Hg).

When compared to the traditional model of clinic check-ups, the study results suggests that blood pressure is better managed when patients have access to HBPM, online tools and a team of specialists who use the HBPM data to coordinate care. (ANI)