Background: Allowing patients to measure their blood pressure at home is recognized as being of clinical value. However, it is not known how often these measurements are taken correctly. Blood pressure monitors for home use fall into two types based on the position of the cuff, ie, at the upper arm or the wrist. The latter is particularly convenient, as measurements can be taken fully clothed. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the wrist-type blood pressure monitors Omron RS8 (HEM-6310F-E), Omron RS6 (HEM-6221-E), and Omron RS3 (HEM-6130-E).
Methods: A team of three trained doctors validated the performance of these devices by comparing the measurements obtained from these devices with those taken using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer. All the devices met the validation requirements of the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol revision 2010.
Results: The difference in blood pressure readings between the tested device and the standard mercury sphygmomanometer was within 3 mmHg, which is acceptable according to the European Society of Hypertension guidelines.
Conclusion: All the home devices tested were found to be suitable for measuring blood pressure at home because their performance fulfilled the requirement of the guidelines.
Keywords: European Society of Hypertension; blood pressure; device; guideline; measurement; validation.