Toward patient-centered blood pressure monitoring: first evaluation of a low-pressure and rapid oscillometric method for reducing cuff-related measurement burden

Out-of-office blood pressure (BP) monitoring is essential for hypertension management. Repeated cuff inflation may cause discomfort and reduce acceptance of out-of-office BP monitoring. To address this, we developed a novel low-pressure and rapid oscillometric method designed to reduce maximum cuff pressure (MaxCP) and measurement duration. In this participant-blinded crossover study, we evaluated cuff-related measurement burden using the Omron HEM-7290T, the first automated upper-arm BP monitor to use the novel method. The HEM-7290T was compared with an otherwise identical device using a conventional inflation-based method (Reference A; n = 110 participants) and with a conventional deflation-based oscillometric BP monitor (Reference B; n = 93 participants). The primary endpoint was the difference in visual analog scale (VAS) score for perceived cuff tightness. Compared with Reference A and Reference B, HEM-7290T reduced VAS scores by 8.6 points (95% CI, 6.5–10.8; p < 0.001) and 9.5 points (95% CI, 7.1–11.8; p < 0.001), respectively. Greater reductions in VAS scores were associated with more frequent selection of the HEM-7290T measurement as the one associated with the least perceived cuff tightness. Compared with Reference A and Reference B, respectively, MaxCP was reduced by 32.0 mmHg and 51.0 mmHg, while measurement duration was reduced by 6.8 s and 14.5 s. In conclusion, the novel low-pressure and rapid oscillometric method significantly reduced subjective and objective measures of cuff-related measurement burden, and measurements performed with the HEM-7290T were more frequently selected as involving the least cuff tightness than measurements performed using conventional methods.