Home blood pressure monitoring showed moderate diagnostic agreement with ambulatory monitoring and superiority over office measurements in diagnosing uncontrolled hypertension and improving compliance.
Systematic Review
Does home blood pressure monitoring improve the diagnosis and management of hypertension compared to office measurements or ABPM?
This systematic review confirms that home blood pressure monitoring is superior to office measurements for diagnosing uncontrolled hypertension and improving patient compliance and blood pressure control.
BACKGROUND: It is recognized that for the reliable assessment of blood pressure (BP) and the accurate diagnosis of hypertension, out-of-office BP measurement with ambulatory (ABPM) or home BP monitoring (HBPM) is often required. The clinical usefulness of ABPM is well established. However, despite the wide use of HBPM, only in the last decade convincing evidence on its usefulness has accumulated. METHODS: Systematic review of the evidence on applying HBPM in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension (PubMed, Cochrane Library, 1970-2010). RESULTS: Sixteen studies in untreated and treated subjects assessed the diagnostic ability of HBPM by taking ABPM as reference. Seven randomized studies compared HBPM vs. office measurements or ABPM for treatment adjustment, whereas many studies compared HBPM with office measurements in assessing the antihypertensive drug effects. Several studies with different design investigated the role of HBPM vs. office measurements in improving patients' compliance with treatment and hypertension control rates. The evidence on the cost-effectiveness of HBPM is limited. The studies reviewed consistently showed moderate diagnostic agreement between HBPM and ABPM, and superiority of HBPM compared to office measurements in diagnosing uncontrolled hypertension, assessing antihypertensive drug effects and improving patients' compliance and hypertension control. Preliminary evidence suggests that HBPM has the potential for cost savings. CONCLUSIONS: There is conclusive evidence that HBPM is useful for the initial diagnosis and the long-term follow-up of treated hypertension. These data are useful for the optimal application of HBPM, which is widely used in clinical practice. More studies on the cost-effectiveness of HBPM are needed.
Stergiou et al. (Fri,) conducted a systematic review in Hypertension. Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) vs. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) or office measurements was evaluated on Diagnostic agreement, treatment adjustment, compliance, and hypertension control. Home blood pressure monitoring showed moderate diagnostic agreement with ambulatory monitoring and superiority over office measurements in diagnosing uncontrolled hypertension and improving compliance.