Introduction on Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
Hypertension increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and heart failure1 and is the leading preventable risk factor for global cardiovascular (CV) disease burden worldwide.2 At ages 40–69 years, each increase of 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (BP) is associated with more than a doubling of the baseline mortality rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD).3 However, despite the fact that the impact of BP on CV risk is supported by one of the greatest bodies of clinical trial data in medicine, few clinical studies have been devoted to the issue of BP measurement and its validity. Studies also lack consistency in the reporting of BP measurements and some do not even provide details on how BP monitoring was performed.4 This article aims to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of home BP monitoring (HBPM) and examines new technology aimed at improving its accuracy.