Comparison and correlation between self-measured blood pressure, casual blood pressure measurement and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

BACKGROUND

Casual blood pressure (BP) measurement by healthcare professionals is subject to great variability and new methods are necessary to overcome this limitation.

OBJECTIVE

To compare and assess the correlation between the BP levels obtained by self-measured BP (SMBP), casual BP measurement and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

METHODS

We assessed hypertensive individuals submitted to the three methods of BP measurement at an interval < 30 days; the BP means were used for comparison and correlation. The following devices were used: OMRON 705 CP (casual measurement), OMRON HEM 714 (SMBP) and SPACELABS 9002 (ABPM).

RESULTS

A total of 32 patients were assessed, of which 50.09% were females, with a mean age of 59.7 (± 11.2), BMI mean of 26.04 (± 3.3) kg/m(2). Mean systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) for SMBP were 134 (± 15.71) mmHg and 79.32 (± 12.38) mmHg. The casual measurement means of SBP and DBP were, respectively, 140.84 (± 16.15) mmHg and 85 (± 9.68) mmHg. The mean values of ABPM during the wakefulness period were 130.47 (± 13.26) mmHg and 79.84 (± 9.82) mmHg for SBP and DBP, respectively. At the comparative analysis, the SMBP had similar results to those obtained at ABPM (p > 0.05) and different from the casual measurement (p < 0.05). At the analysis of correlation, SMBP values were higher than the casual measurements, considering ABPM as the reference standard in BP measurements.

CONCLUSION

SMBP showed a better correlation with ABPM than the casual measurement and was also better correlated with the latter, especially regarding the DBP and should be considered as a low-cost alternative for the follow-up of the hypertensive patient.