Monitoring blood pressure only does some good if you take action based upon it; CLICKBAIT TITLE ONLY!
This 5-minute daily habit could significantly lower your stroke risk, new study says
Here’s what to know about this new research.
Reviewed by Dietitian Madeline Peck, RDN, CDN
Key Points
- Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure—a risk factor for stroke and heart failure.
- Researchers explored whether home blood pressure monitoring could improve hypertension care.
- Regularly taking blood pressure measurements lowered participants’ risk for stroke.
Once reserved for marathon runners and dedicated gym-goers, wearable technology has become a part of everyday life. You can wear a watch, ring, armband or other connected device to track everything from your steps and your sleep to your heart rate and even your blood pressure.
In fact, nearly one in three Americans uses a wearable device to track their health and fitness. While these tools can help people better understand patterns in their health—and in some cases identify changes that warrant medical follow-up—people who use wearables consistently are often already engaged in their health and healthy behaviors. Meanwhile, less healthy individuals might be less likely to use these technologies regularly, despite the potential benefits from ongoing monitoring.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for heart disease, including stroke, heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. And not only that—nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, yet many are unaware because high blood pressure often develops without noticeable symptoms. As a result, regular monitoring plays an important role in diagnosis and long-term management.
How Was the Study Conducted?
To explore whether home blood pressure monitoring could improve hypertension care, in a recent study published in European Heart Journal Digital Health, researchers conducted an observational analysis using health records from more than 450,000 adults across Scotland. Participants were over the age of 16 and had filled at least one prescription for a first-line blood pressure medication between March 2019 and February 2021.
From this sample size, researchers identified patients who used Scotland's blood pressure telemonitoring program, which allows individuals to measure blood pressure at home and electronically submit readings to their healthcare team. To be included in the telemonitoring group, participants had to submit more than one blood pressure reading through the system over the 3-year period.
The outcomes of the telemonitoring group were compared with a "control" group of patients—those who did not use telemonitoring but were similar in sociodemographic factors including age, sex and blood pressure medication use.
Researchers evaluated changes in participants' blood pressure over time. They also tracked major cardiovascular outcomes, including emergency hospitalization or death related to acute coronary syndrome, stroke, heart failure and transient ischemic attack.
What Did the Study Find?
Overall, the findings suggest that patients who used telemonitoring for routine long-term blood pressure management and shared their results with their healthcare provider experienced better cardiovascular outcomes than those who did not. Compared with non-users, telemonitoring users had lower rates of major cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure and acute coronary syndrome.
Researchers also observed improvements in blood pressure control among telemonitoring users. In fact, systolic blood pressure decreased within the first month of monitoring, continued to improve at three months and remained lower through 12 months of follow-up. These findings suggest that regular home monitoring paired with electronic reporting may help support sustained blood pressure management overtime. While this aligns with previous research, longer-term studies are needed to determine whether these improvements are maintained beyond the one-year mark.
Interestingly, the people most likely to adopt telemonitoring tended to be younger, were prescribed fewer blood pressure medications and lived in areas that were more socioeconomically stable. These findings highlight a potential challenge—the patients who may benefit most from closer blood pressure monitoring may not always be the ones engaging with digital health tools.
Though this study was strong, with its large sample size and use of real-world health data, the researchers noted several limitations. First, for participants who did not engage in home telemonitoring, blood pressure data was more limited, making it harder to compare changes in blood pressure over time between groups. Additionally, because the study was observational, the findings cannot show that telemonitoring directly caused the improvements in blood pressure or cardiovascular outcomes. Finally, participants who did participate in telemonitoring may have also been more engaged in other health-promoting behaviors that were not captured in this analysis.
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
The findings from this study don't necessarily mean that everyone should run out and buy a smartwatch or start tracking every health metric. But it does highlight an important takeaway: when people monitor their blood pressure consistently and stay connected with their healthcare team, they may be able to better manage hypertension over time.
Home blood pressure monitoring can be a useful tool, especially because high blood pressure often develops without obvious symptoms. If you've been diagnosed with hypertension or have risk factors for heart disease, talk with a healthcare professional about whether checking your blood pressure at home makes sense for you—they may even have a monitor that they recommend you use.
If your healthcare provider does recommend a blood pressure monitor, the good news is that this habit won’t take much time out of your day. The American Heart Association recommends that you take your blood pressure during a restful part of the day—don’t do it after exercise or as you sip your morning coffee. Instead, sit peacefully for about five minutes, then let the automatic cuff go to work.
Beyond monitoring your levels, there are other heart-healthy habits you can engage in to support healthy blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Here are a few we recommend:
- Eat a heart-healthy diet. Prioritize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and lean protein sources and limit processed foods high in sodium and added sugar when possible.
- Engage in regular physical activity. Staying active helps keep your heart strong and can also help you maintain a healthy weight.
- Avoid smoking. Smoking damages blood vessels and increases the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
- Regularly work with a healthcare team. Regular check-ins can help you monitor changes, adjust medication when needed and build habits that support long-term blood pressure management.
Our Expert Take
A recent study published in European Heart Journal Digital Health suggests that home blood pressure monitoring–especially when paired with sharing results with a healthcare provider–may support better blood pressure management and is associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes. While monitoring alone isn't a substitute for treatment and heart-healthy lifestyle habits, it can provide a more complete picture of how blood pressure changes over time. If you've been diagnosed with hypertension or have risk factors for heart disease, consider asking your healthcare provider whether home blood pressure monitoring could be a useful addition to your care plan.
Read the original article on EatingWell
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