Blood Pressure Smartphone App Doesn’t Beat Traditional Home Monitoring

Aug. 18, 2022 – Here’s one other vote for much less display time. Tracking blood strain with a smartphone app will not result in any better drop in blood strain than merely self-monitoring with the sort of gadget that docs usually recommend be used at dwelling.

That’s in keeping with a brand new research involving sufferers with hypertension, also referred to as hypertension, who have been randomly positioned into one in all two teams. Half of the individuals within the research self-measured their blood strain with a typical monitor alone. These gadgets include a measuring unit connected to a cuff fabricated from a chunk of rubber or related materials that’s wrapped round your arm after which inflated to measure your blood strain. The different half, or the second group, self-measured their blood strain utilizing the usual gadget paired with a linked smartphone app.

Both teams achieved practically equivalent reductions in blood strain (about 11 factors in systolic blood strain – the highest quantity) over 6 months, reported satisfaction with the monitoring course of, and shared their readings with their docs with related frequency.

The research concerned 2,101 adults, typically middle-aged or older, who stated they might attempt to cut back their blood strain by no less than 10 factors.

“By itself, commonplace self-measured blood strain has minimal impact on BP management,” wrote lead writer Mark J. Pletcher, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues in JAMA Internal Medicine. To really enhance blood strain management, there additionally must be affected person suggestions, counseling, or different alternatives for intervention.

The researchers additionally noticed different related outcomes between the 2 teams within the research. For instance, 70% of those that used the app stated they might suggest following the method they used to trace their blood strain to a buddy, in contrast with 69% of individuals who adopted the usual method.

New gadgets that hyperlink with smartphone apps, just like the one used on this trial, ship blood strain measurements to the affected person’s smartphone. The apps permit for monitoring measurements, interpret the outcomes, and might ship reminders to measure blood strain and take drugs. They additionally supply suggestions for a more healthy life-style and supply nudges to debate your blood strain together with your physician, amongst different issues, the researchers defined.

Pletcher famous that it’s arduous to get individuals to actively use health-related apps for lengthy intervals of time.

“There is so much competition for people’s attention on their phone,” he said.

But he hasn’t given up on these apps, saying that “with the right technology and connectivity and user experience, they still could be game-changing for managing” hypertension and different long-term well being points.

Matthew Jung, MD, of the University of Southern California, says the research is noteworthy for a number of causes, together with its massive measurement, the same degree of consolation with expertise reported by each teams, and illustration of Black and Hispanic individuals.

But he additionally identified a number of research limits, together with that one-third of the individuals studied by no means confirmed they acquired a tool, lower than half of the group assigned to utilizing the app stated they used it, and the research solely lasted 10 weeks.