Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Clinical Advance
  • Published:

Home blood pressure monitoring: a new standard method for monitoring hypertension control in treated patients

Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine volume 5, pages 762–763 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Inadequate blood pressure (BP) control in patients with treated hypertension can be influenced by patient behavior, the inaccuracy of BP measurement in the clinical setting, and the fact that no single class of medication is universally effective. Home BP monitoring (HBPM) enables accurate measurement of BP and has been recommended (by multiple societies and associations) for the diagnosis of hypertension and the evaluation of antihypertensive treatment. Although HBPM is thought to improve BP control as a result of patients' increased adherence to their medication, this improvement is limited. Green et al. have shown that HBPM in combination with regular internet correspondence with a medical professional is a highly effective therapeutic strategy for BP control, possibly because this strategy is associated with an increase in number of prescriptions. This strategy should, therefore, be routinely used in the management of patients with hypertension.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Armitage P and Rose GA (1966) The variability of measurements of casual blood pressure. I. A laboratory study. Clin Sci 30: 325–335

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ishikawa J et al. The changes in home versus clinic blood pressure with antihypertensive treatments: a meta-analysis. Hypertension, in press

  3. Little P et al. (2002) Comparison of agreement between different measures of blood pressure in primary care and daytime ambulatory blood pressure. BMJ 325: 254–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Pickering TG et al. (2008) Call to action on use and reimbursement for home blood pressure monitoring: executive summary: a joint scientific statement from the American Heart Association, American Society of Hypertension, and Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. Hypertension 52: 1–9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Parati G et al. (2008) European Society of Hypertension guidelines for blood pressure monitoring at home: a summary report of the Second International Consensus Conference on Home Blood Pressure Monitoring. J Hypertens 26: 1505–1526

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Vaur L et al. (1998) Superiority of home blood pressure measurements over office measurements for testing antihypertensive drugs. Blood Press Monit 3: 107–114

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Klem ML et al. (1997) A descriptive study of individuals successful at long-term maintenance of substantial weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr 66: 239–246

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Ogedegbe G and Schoenthaler A (2006) A systematic review of the effects of home blood pressure monitoring on medication adherence. J Clin Hypertens 8: 174–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Green BB et al. (2008) Effectiveness of home blood pressure monitoring, web communication, and pharmacist care on hypertension control: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 299: 2857–2867

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Behavioral Cardiovascular Health and Hypertension Program, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, PH 9-946, 622 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA tp2114@columbia.edu

Authors and Affiliations

  1. TG Pickering is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Behavioral Cardiovascular Health and Hypertension Program at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,

    Thomas G Pickering

Authors
  1. Thomas G Pickering
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pickering, T. Home blood pressure monitoring: a new standard method for monitoring hypertension control in treated patients. Nat Rev Cardiol 5, 762–763 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio1374

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio1374

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing