This study compared home blood pressure telemonitoring with standard medical care in the management of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension (HTN), often requires regular checkups. However, regular physician appointments are impractical, and random measurements of blood pressure are often inaccurate in monitoring disease management.

Home telemonitoring systems allow for a simple and frequent assessment of blood pressure on a regular basis. A number of home monitoring devices are placed at a patient's home and results of measurements are sent electronically directly to the health care provider. This tool allows physicians to monitor blood pressure treatments more accurately. Real time consultation during possible medical emergencies is also made possible using telemonitoring.

A total of 450 patients with uncontrolled hypertension were assigned to receive standard medical care or standard medical care and added telemonitoring services. Results of telemonitoring were transmitted to researchers and medical therapy was adjusted accordingly. Patients attended clinic visits at 6, 12, and 18 months into the study to assess management of the disease.

After 6 months, 71.8% of the telemonitoring intervention group and 45.2% of the standard care group had their blood pressure well controlled during the clinic measurements. Similar differences were seen during clinic visits after 12 and 18 months. However, only 50.9% of the patients in the telemonitoring group and 21.3% of patients in the standard care group showed controlled measurements at all three clinic visits.

This study concluded that home blood pressure telemonitoring improves hypertension management compared to the usual standard of care.

Although this study showed a significant improvement in the control of the disease, the method of determining results, by clinic visit measurements, was questionable. The very premise of the study was that random office measurements are inaccurate at predicting the actual state of the disease. The inconsistency between data from all three clinic visits combined and results from each individual visit further emphasize this point.

Consult with your physician regarding up to date medical communication and monitoring devices that may help better manage or prevent hypertension.