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Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring for Hyper and Hypotension

Hypertension is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world manifesting in the form of cardiovascular diseases. Hypertension in any patient is classically defined by the blood pressure measurements from a doctor’s office. These measurements do not however reflect the actual value of blood pressure of the patient at any time of the day due to a lot of reasons. The most important of these reasons include a white coat effect, meaning where the patient’s BP is elevated due to nervousness. The other situation is where the BP is normal in the office but otherwise elevated, which is called masked hypertension.

To avoid errors of this kind, doctors might suggest ambulatory blood pressure monitoring where your blood pressure is measured round the clock – while you sleep, while you perform your daily routine. An ABPM is a sure-fire way of recording your BP for 24 hours making it a dependable method for diagnosing Hypertension. These measurements are not only more accurate but also a better predictor of hyper or hypotension in a patient.

BPAro ABPM Device

BPAro is an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring device that can monitor your blood pressure for up to 30 hours. Designed to be used with ease and efficiency by healthcare professionals, BPAro records the blood pressure of the patients and saves them in the user’s cloud account.

Doctors can access their patient’s records from anywhere through the BPAro iOS and Android applications. The data findings are recorded such that trained professionals can interpret the readings easily. BPAro stores data per all the HL7 standards making it easier to streamline communication by way of data integration with electronic medical records.

How does the BPAro work?

BPAro comes as a small device that can be worn on your body with a belt connected to the cuff on your upper arm. Your blood pressure is measured every 30 minutes are the recordings are automatically saved to the patient’s personal account on the cloud. Even though you can get your BP measured at a doctor’s office during your appointment, BPAro keeps a constant track of your BP throughout a normal day. It gives a better overview of your BP during the day and at any particular time.

Diagnosis of Nocturnal Hypertension:

According to the 2017 American Heart Association Hypertension Guideline, nocturnal hypertension is when the BP is above 110/65 mmHg by ABPM. There is a high incidence of nocturnal hypertension, masked or otherwise, noted in the Asian population especially. It can occur in anyone in the form of sleep disturbances, autonomic dysfunction, etc due to various lifestyle-related factors. This condition will not be evident during the BP recorded in a doctor’s office.

BPAro comes into play here with its ability to record your BP as it rises and falls every 30 minutes when you are asleep. It helps the doctors detect and rule out white coat hypertension, masked hypertension, etc.

In patients with risk of OSA:

Doctors can recommend an ABPM device like BPAro when they deem it necessary in conditions like Sleep Apnea. Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA is a common and usually underdiagnosed sleep disorder in hypertensive patients. In patients who come with complaints of excessive snoring, especially untreated hypertensive patients, continuous monitoring of their blood pressure when they sleep might provide useful insight to identify those who are at risk for OSA. It can potentially save the patient from damage to essential internal organs such as the heart.

Additional Information Derived from ABPM Records:

  • It helps in identifying secondary hypertension.
  • Sleep apnea can be confirmed when there is no fall in BP levels during the night.
  • Studies have shown that almost 20 – 30% of the patients with resistant hypertension show normal BP levels with 24-hour ABPM.
  • ABPM can also help in finding the actual reason behind a fainting episode.
  • Patients with Type 2 diabetes and orthostatic hypotension, autonomic failure, or asymptomatic postprandial hypotension can make use of BPAro to record their fluctuating blood pressures.
  • BPAro also measures the heart rate throughout the day.

With all the above information as aids, doctors can formulate the right treatment plan and drugs for their patients, diagnose early cardiovascular diseases, treat tricky hypertensive cases and prevent target end organ damage.

Other benefits from BPAro ABPM:

BPAro can also be utilized by patients for the following reasons (only when it is recommended by their physician):

  • Borderline Hypertensive patients
  • Hypertensive pregnant women monitoring
  • Patients on drugs that may cause hypertension
  • Patients non-responsive to hypertensive drugs
  • Patients who are prescribed new drugs that may lead to hypertension
  • Patients with a history of hypotension and fainting episodes

BPAro – Device Validation, Security and UI

BPAro is a clinically validated, FDA and Health Canada-approved ABPM device. It is designed and manufactured to be effective with updated health parameters and HL7 connectivity to ensure easy integration with EMRs. BPAro is not only technologically easy to use by all, but it is also built to be worn and used by patients with as much comfort as one can possibly provide.

BPAro monitors and uploads the blood pressure values in 30-minute intervals even when the patient sleeps. The device is small, portable and comes with 3 different cuff sizes to accommodate patients of all shapes and sizes. It even weighs as low as 190 grams and is easily wearable without any coming in the way of daily activities.

The BPAro applications are user-friendly and can be installed and used on your laptops or smartphones, both Android and Apple models. All the health records of the patient monitored by BPAro will be available on the app in the user’s personal accounts.

All patient data on the cloud is stored securely and to ensure they stay out of the wrong hands, BPAro offers 2-Factor authentication. BPAro also allows tracking of your devices using Bluetooth through your mobile apps. The devices can also be reused on other patients and the accounts can be edited and personalised based on patients' information.