Greater engagement with self-management program linked to lower systolic BP over time, lower risk for very high BP<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Oct. 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A mobile technology hypertension self-management program can support long-term control of blood pressure (BP), according to a study published online Oct. 15 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Tomer Gazit, Ph.D., from Hello Heart in Tel Aviv, Israel, and colleagues conducted a cohort study to examine whether engagement with a hypertension self-management program with a BP monitor and connected smartphone application with clinically based digital coaching was associated with BP control in a cohort study involving U.S. adults with elevated BP or hypertension. Data were included for 28,189 participants.<\/p>\n The researchers found that at one year, median systolic BP improved at least one category for 53.0, 69.7, and 85.7 percent of participants with baseline elevated BP, baseline stage 1 hypertension, and baseline stage 2 hypertension, respectively. Mean systolic BP reductions of 7.2, 12.2, and 20.9 mm Hg compared with baseline were seen at three years for participants in the program who started with elevated BP, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension, respectively. Greater engagement was associated with lower systolic BP over time (131.2, 133.4, and 135.5 mm Hg for the high-, medium-, and low-engagement groups, respectively); these results persisted after adjustment for confounding variables and were partly mediated by greater physical activity. Greater engagement with the program also was associated with a lower risk for very high BP.<\/p>\n “This real-world evidence suggests that mobile technology may be useful for BP monitoring and control,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Two authors disclosed financial ties to Hello Heart, which funded the analysis; one author disclosed ties to Apple.<\/p>\n