Home BP monitoring has long been thought to be very useful to hypertension patients who are prone to the infamous white coat syndrome. Home monitoring is also key to detecting elusive blood pressure conditions such as morning hypertension which occurs too early in the morning for doctors to easily detect it.
The success of home BP monitoring has opened new horizons for medical professionals and experts who are keen on effectively controlling hypertension and improve the lives of millions of people. Now doctors realize that high blood pressure patients can effectively get into their own hands the control and management of high blood pressure conditions.
Researchers recently proved that self-management of hypertension led to significant and worthwhile reductions in BP compared with usual care. Patients were trained to take own BP and adjust medication accordingly. In as much as self-management of hypertension may not be suitable for all patients, amongst those who can use it self-management will improve the lives of more than 2 million patients on the UK alone.
As technology continues to improves it seems very likely that most chronic diseases will be better effectively managed by the patient them self than the doctor. Online submissions of daily BP readings from home and the corresponding instruction on medication variations are all possibilities that have so far been proven in studies.
Hypertension self-management at home takes way the burden experienced by many patients who are not comfortable visiting the doctor at the hospital or clinic. The fact that treatment and monitoring is done at home has the further psychological benefit that things are under control.
In the developing world in particular where the ratio of doctors to patients is extremely a concern, with a little training patients in remote places will be able to bring high blood pressure under control via self-management. This will improve the quality of health care and the reach of medical services in communities that are in desperate need of medical attention.
Working with international technology companies such as Omron and others, international health institutions such as the WHO can use technology to improve blood pressure health care in developing countries such as China and India and many other countries in Africa. There will be need to technologically develop blood pressure devices that will effectively facilitate BP self-management by ordinary folk.
You may read more about hypertension in general by going to the dedicated high blood pressure resource center.
