CAN AN M-HEALTH APPLICATION IMPROVE THE BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION?

Introduction. Hypertension is a leading cause of overall morbidity and mortality worldwide. The use of telemonitoring opens new opportunities for close monitoring of patients with hypertension through self-monitoring of blood pressure at home and timely transfer of these to primary care physicians. Objective. To assess the effect of using an mHealth application in improving blood pressure control in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension. Methods and materials. Results from the first 6 months of a prospective randomized controlled multicenter trial with 12-months follow-up of newly diagnosed patients with hypertension. The intervention group received standard care + mHealth app, while the control group received standard care alone. The study monitored ambulatory blood pressure measurements at 0, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Results. 95 participants in the intervention group and 97 in control group were recruited. In terms of systolic blood pressure values after 6 months, a decrease in the average systolic blood pressure was observed in both groups, with a decrease in the average by 22mmHg in the intervention, i.e. 20mmHg in the control group with a difference of 2mmHg in favor of the intervention group. A reduction in the average diastolic bood pressure of 13.4mmHg occurred in the intervention, i.e. 12.75mmHg in the standard care group, with a difference of 0.65mmHg in favor of the intervention group. Conclusion. An mHealth application that enables two-way patient-physician communication is an auxiliary tool to standard care that may improve blood pressure control in newly diagnosed patients with hypertension.