The role of home blood pressure monitoring in hypertension control.

Hypertension is estimated to affect as many as 50 million adults in the United States. Despite nationally developed, evidence-based guidelines for care and the availability of numerous effective medications for the treatment of hypertension, control rates for this condition remain very low. Only 21%-27% of diagnosed patients in the United States are controlled to blood pressure levels of less than 140/90 mm Hg.1 Factors contributing to the poor hypertension control rate include adherence issues, variation in provider practice patterns, and the lack of a systematic approach to tracking and maintaining blood pressure control. Home monitoring combined with systematic treatment and follow-up by skilled health care professionals can have a positive impact in all three of these areas.