Mobile tech program helps adults control high blood pressure

(HealthDay)—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.

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.

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.

“This real-world evidence suggests that mobile technology may be useful for BP monitoring and control,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to Hello Heart, which funded the analysis; one author disclosed ties to Apple.

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