High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is one of the most common health problems around the world.
Millions of people live with this condition, and many do not even know they have it. Unlike many illnesses, high blood pressure often causes no obvious symptoms. A person can feel completely well while high blood pressure is slowly damaging their body.
Because it usually develops quietly, high blood pressure is often called a “silent killer.” If it is not treated, it can gradually damage blood vessels and important organs.
Over time, it raises the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, vision problems, and other serious health conditions. High blood pressure is also linked to memory problems and dementia later in life.
For these reasons, finding high blood pressure early and treating it properly is very important. Doctors usually measure blood pressure during clinic appointments. A healthcare worker places a cuff around the patient’s upper arm, inflates it, and records two numbers.
The first number is called systolic pressure, which measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. The second number is called diastolic pressure, which measures the pressure when the heart rests between beats.
For many years, these office measurements have been used to diagnose high blood pressure and guide treatment decisions. However, a new study suggests that readings taken only in a doctor’s office may not always provide the full picture.
The research was conducted by scientists at Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest healthcare organizations in the United States. Between 2017 and 2019, the researchers worked with 12 primary care centers in Western Washington.
They studied 510 adults who were considered at high risk of developing high blood pressure. These participants had health histories suggesting they might develop hypertension, even though some had not yet been diagnosed.
The researchers divided the participants into three groups. The first group had their blood pressure checked during regular doctor visits, just as most patients do. The second group received home blood pressure monitors and were asked to measure their own blood pressure at home.
The third group used blood pressure kiosks, which are automatic machines commonly found in pharmacies and clinics that allow people to measure their blood pressure without assistance from healthcare workers.
To determine which method was most accurate, the researchers used a special device called a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor, often shortened to ABPM. This small device is worn on the body and automatically measures blood pressure many times throughout the day and night. It even records blood pressure while a person is sleeping.
Because it collects readings over an entire day, ABPM is considered the gold standard for measuring blood pressure. It provides a much more complete picture than a single reading taken during a medical appointment.
When the researchers compared the results, they found something important. The readings taken at home were very similar to those collected by the 24-hour monitor. This means that home blood pressure monitors provided highly accurate results that closely matched the most reliable method available.
The office readings told a different story. Blood pressure measurements taken during doctor visits were often lower than the readings from the 24-hour monitor.
As a result, some people who actually had high blood pressure were incorrectly told that their blood pressure was normal. The researchers found that more than half of the people in the clinic-only group were not correctly diagnosed. This could delay treatment and allow damage to continue unnoticed.
The blood pressure kiosks also had limitations. Their readings were often higher than those from the 24-hour monitor. This means some people may have been incorrectly told they had high blood pressure when they did not. Such false alarms can cause unnecessary worry and may even lead to treatments that are not needed.
The study highlights an important fact about blood pressure. It changes throughout the day. It can rise during stressful situations, physical activity, pain, or anxiety.
Some people become nervous during medical appointments, while others may feel especially relaxed. A single measurement taken in a clinic captures only one moment and may miss important patterns that occur during normal daily life.
Many participants also said they preferred checking their blood pressure at home. It was more convenient and comfortable. They could measure their blood pressure several times over different days and get a better understanding of their usual readings. Home monitoring also helped people feel more involved in looking after their own health.
Current medical guidelines already recommend using either home blood pressure monitoring or 24-hour monitoring to confirm a diagnosis of hypertension. However, many healthcare providers still rely mainly on office readings.
The researchers believe that their findings, which were published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, may encourage wider use of home monitoring.
More studies are still needed to determine the best ways to incorporate home blood pressure monitoring into everyday healthcare. However, the message from this research is clear.
Measuring your blood pressure at home may provide a more accurate picture of your cardiovascular health and could help identify high blood pressure earlier, allowing treatment to begin before serious complications develop.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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