The value of patients monitoring their blood pressure at home
Home blood pressure monitoring has been shown to improve medicine adherence and blood pressure control. Studies have shown that after six months, 92 per cent of patients measuring blood pressure at home adhered with their medication vs 74 per cent of patients that were monitored in the clinic.12,13
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring (HBPM) can improve therapeutic adherence and Blood Pressure Control
*Proportion of patients adherent to therapy after six months
BIHS / NICE guidelines on home blood pressure monitoring1
If measuring blood pressure at home, it should be done twice a day, ideally once in the morning and once in the evening, while sitting down. Each time patients do this, they should take two readings, one minute apart. Patients should continue to measure their blood pressure twice daily for at least four days and ideally for seven days. The patient’s doctor or nurse should use all the measurements they have taken after the first day to work out their average blood pressure.
To help your patients take their blood pressure at home effectively, you can download a useful blood pressure measurement poster produced by the BIHS here.