FRIDAY, June 11, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Monitoring their blood pressure at home lets people with hypertension control their condition better, says a study in the June 12 issue of the British Medical Journal.
Researchers analyzed the results of 18 blood pressure monitoring studies of almost 3,000 people with hypertension. Of those, 1,359 did home blood pressure monitoring and 1,355 had their blood pressure monitored in health-care facilities.
Overall, people who monitored their blood pressure at home had lower blood pressure levels and more of them achieved their blood pressure targets.
Because home blood pressure monitoring is generally reliable, feasible and acceptable to patients, it could help get patients more involved in the management of their own blood pressure and to control it more effectively, the study authors concluded.
More information
The American Medical Association has more about hypertension.
