title: Home blood pressure monitoring: Australian Expert Consensus Statement.
abstract: Measurement of blood pressure (BP) by a doctor in the clinic has limitations that may result in an unrepresentative measure of underlying BP which can impact on the appropriate assessment and management of high BP. Home BP monitoring is the self-measurement of BP in the home setting (usually in the morning and evening) over a defined period (e.g. 7 days) under the direction of a healthcare provider. When it may not be feasible to measure 24-h ambulatory BP, home BP may be offered as a method to diagnose and manage patients with high BP. Home BP has good reproducibility, is well tolerated, is relatively inexpensive and is superior to clinic BP for prognosis of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Home BP can be used in combination with clinic BP to identify 'white coat' and 'masked' hypertension. An average home BP of at least 135/85 mmHg is an appropriate threshold for the diagnosis of hypertension. Home BP may also offer the advantage of empowering patients with their BP management, with benefits including increased adherence to therapy and lower achieved BP levels. It is recommended that, when feasible, home BP should be considered for routine use in the clinical management of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: aMenzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart bBaker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne cMonash University, Clayton, Victoria dEndocrine Hypertension Research Centre, University of Queensland School of Medicine, Greenslopes and Princess Alexandra Hospitals, Brisbane, Queensland eSchool of Medicine and Pharmacology, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Perth fCentre for Research in Evidence Based Practice, Bond University, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sharman
authors.forename: Faline S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Howes
authors.forename: Geoffrey A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Head
authors.forename: Barry P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stowasser
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlaich
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Glasziou
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D032921:Consensus; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D059468:Masked Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care; D059466:White Coat Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis