A new study from HealthPartners Institute found that people with high blood pressure who used a telemonitoring program had about half the risk of heart attack or stroke compared to those who received standard care.
High blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease and stroke, yet many people struggle to keep it under control.
In the U.S., nearly half of adults have high blood pressure, meaning their systolic (top number) is 130 mm Hg or higher, or their diastolic (bottom number) is 80 mm Hg or higher. However, most people with high blood pressure do not have it well-managed.
The study involved 450 patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure from 16 primary care clinics in Minnesota. They were randomly assigned to two groups.
One group received routine care from their doctor, while the other group used a telemonitoring system that allowed them to measure their blood pressure at home and send the readings to a pharmacist. The pharmacist then worked with them to adjust medications and make lifestyle changes.
Over five years, researchers tracked blood pressure levels and recorded any major heart-related events, including heart attacks, strokes, hospitalizations for heart failure, and the need for stents to open blocked arteries.
The results showed a big difference between the two groups:
- In the telemonitoring group, 5.3% of participants had a serious heart-related event. This included 5 heart attacks, 4 strokes, 5 hospitalizations for heart failure, and 1 heart-related death.
- In the routine care group, 10.4% of participants had a serious event. This included 11 heart attacks, 12 strokes, and 3 hospitalizations for heart failure.
The telemonitoring group also had fewer stent placements (2 vs. 10), which suggests that their improved blood pressure control helped prevent severe heart problems.
Based on these findings, researchers believe that making telemonitoring widely available could help many people with high blood pressure avoid life-threatening heart events.
They also suggest that future studies should look at how to encourage more patients to use home blood pressure monitoring over long periods and assess its long-term impact on heart health.
The study, led by Dr. Karen L. Margolis, was published in Hypertension. These findings highlight the potential of telemonitoring as a simple, effective, and life-saving strategy for managing high blood pressure.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that could increase high blood pressure risk, and eating eggs in a healthy diet may reduce risks of diabetes, high blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and results showing 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
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