Home BP Monitoring May Not Benefit Stroke Patients With HTN

Subgroup analysis indicates benefit for those without disability due to stroke, baseline uncontrolled BP

TUESDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Although home blood pressure monitoring does not correlate with a reduction in systolic blood pressure in an unselected population of patients with hypertension and a history of stroke, it may be beneficial for select groups of patients, according to research published online Nov. 5 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

Sally M. Kerry, of the University of London, and colleagues conducted a randomized study involving 381 patients with hypertension and a history of stroke from outpatient and inpatient stroke clinics who were randomly assigned to receive either home blood pressure monitoring with nurse-led telephone support (187 participants) or usual care (194 participants).

The researchers found that, although more patients in the intervention group had changes to their antihypertensive treatment during the study period, there was no significant difference in the decrease in systolic blood pressure between the groups (adjusted mean difference, 0.3 mm Hg). In subgroup analyses, significant interactions were noted with disability due to stroke and baseline blood pressure.

"Overall, home monitoring did not improve blood pressure control among patients with hypertension and a history of stroke," the authors write. "It was associated with a fall in systolic pressure in patients who had uncontrolled blood pressure at baseline and those without disability due to stroke."

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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