Self-monitoring of blood pressure at home helps in gaining better control over high blood pressure than the standard monitoring done by the doctor. Researchers from the Turku University Hospital in Finland conducted a study, which involved 55 primary health care centres to find out the effectiveness of home monitoring of blood pressure. A group of 113 patients measured their blood pressure at home, using an automated device twice everyday for 7 days and then again at 2, 4, and 6 months. A comparison group of 119 patients had their blood pressure measured in their primary doctor's office during the same time period. The doctors in both groups were instructed to intensify treatment if the target blood pressure was not met. Both groups experienced significant drops in blood pressure, but the effects were generally more pronounced in the home-monitoring group. It was observed that more patients in the home-monitoring group achieved their target blood pressure. This may be at least partially related to more changes in blood pressure medications during the study - 85 changes in the home-monitoring group versus 73 in the comparison group. However, there remains room for improvement since many of the patients failed to meet their target blood pressure. The findings highlight the potential role of self-monitoring of blood pressure in improving the management of high blood pressure.
American Journal of Hypertension,
November 2005