European Society of Hypertension Practice Guidelines for home blood pressure monitoring

Self-monitoring of blood pressure by patients at home (home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM)) is being increasingly used in many countries and is well accepted by hypertensive patients. Current hypertension guidelines have endorsed the use of HBPM in clinical practice as a useful adjunct to conventional office measurements. Recently, a detailed consensus document on HBPM was published by the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring. However, in daily practice, briefer documents summarizing the essential recommendations are needed. It is also accepted that the successful implementation of clinical guidelines in routine patient care is dependent on their acceptance by involvement of practising physicians. The present document, which provides concise and updated guidelines on the use of HBPM for practising physicians, was therefore prepared by including the comments and feedback of general practitioners. Journal of Human Hypertension (2010) 24, 779-785; doi:10.1038/jhh.2010.54; published online 3 June 2010