[Manipulation of blood pressure self-monitoring protocol values: a randomized controlled study]

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Technology
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Effective hypertension management relies on accurate blood pressure monitoring.
• Self-measurement offers convenience but faces challenges with data accuracy and reporting.
• Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) provides valuable data but is less frequently used.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the accuracy of self-reported blood pressure measurements against stored device data.
• To assess the impact of patient awareness of device memory function on data integrity.
• To evaluate the influence of device memory on patient adherence to measurement protocols.

Main Methods:

• A randomized clinical trial involving 48 hypertensive outpatients.
• Participants measured blood pressure twice daily for 14 days.
• Comparison between reported values and stored data, with one group unaware of the device's memory capacity.

Main Results:

• The non-informed group performed more measurements (76.1 vs. 58.8; p=0.0005).
• The informed group showed higher agreement between stored and reported values (95.7% vs. 87.5%; p=0.026).
• Fictional data reporting occurred exclusively in the non-informed group (0 vs. 55; p=0.002).

Conclusions:

• Blood pressure devices with memory function enhance the accuracy of self-reported measurements.
• Awareness of data storage influences patient reporting behavior and data integrity.
• Utilizing memory-enabled devices can significantly improve the reliability of self-measured blood pressure for clinical monitoring.