The following is a summary of “Performance of wearable watch-type home blood pressure measurement devices in a real-world clinical sample,” published in the December 2023 issue of Cardiology by Lunardi et al.
Researchers performed a retrospective review to rigorously assess the accuracy of home blood pressure (HBPM) devices, particularly for aging and multimorbid populations often neglected by independent testing.
They examined the Bpro G2 (tonometry), Omron HeartGuide (occlusive oscillometric technology), and Heartisans (photoplethysmography) wristwatch HBPM devices against a gold standard brachial sphygmomanometer. Device performance was assessed using the ISO81060-2 protocol, although this protocol doesn’t formally validate cuffless devices. Longitudinal BP comparisons used linear mixed models, and device failures, indicating no BP measurement, were recorded for usability assessment.
The results showed 128 participants (median [Q1–Q3] age 53 [40–65] years, 51% male, 46% on antihypertensive drugs), with 100 suitable for the primary analysis. All 3 devices had mean BP values within 5 mmHg of sphygmomanometry. None of the devices met all criteria required by the ISO81060-2 protocol due to insufficient reliability (e.g., wider than accepted standard deviations of mean BP). In longitudinal analyses, the Omron device systematically underestimated systolic and diastolic BP (−8.46 mmHg; 95% CI 6.07, 10.86; P<0.001; and −2.53 mmHg; 95% CI −4.03, −1.03; P=0.001; respectively). Compared to the Omron device, BPro, and Heartisans devices had increased odds of failure (BPro: OR 5.24; P<0.0001; Heartisans: OR 5.61; P<0.001).
Investigators concluded that cuffless tech stumbled, calling for sharper tools to track the heart’s beat.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00392-023-02353-7
