Researchers are about to start a new study to see if a sensor worn on the wrist to measure blood pressure is a better way of determining who needs treatment to lower their blood pressure.
High blood pressure affects about one quarter of the adult population of the UK, with more than 12 million people currently receiving treatment.
The ‘wrist watch’ device accurately measures the pressure of blood leaving the heart during the day and night, the first time this has ever been achieved.
The information provided by the measurement of this ‘central blood pressure’ is far more useful than the usual method of measuring blood pressure using a cuff over the arteries of the arm and could hold the key to identifying patients who are at greater risk of heart disease and stroke and establish the best ways to treat them.
This ground-breaking research has been led by Professor Bryan Williams, Director of the BRC and consultant in cardiovascular medicine. The new study will recruit 500 men aged 18 to 40 with a mildly elevated blood pressure to take part in a ‘cardiovascular health check’ which includes measuring their central blood pressure and blood pressure in the arm to determine whether central pressure is a better predictor of strain on the heart.
Around 200 people with the highest and the lowest central pressures will be invited to continue in the study and undergo MRI scans to look in detail at the structure and function of their heart and arteries. They will then enter a clinical trial which will use the measurements from the wrist watch to establish the most effective treatment to reduce the strain on the heart due to high blood pressure.
The work of Professor Williams and his team means that in the future, people could have their central blood pressure measured routinely, rather than simply relying on the pressure measured in the arm.
Professor Williams, who was Chairman of the recent NICE guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure said: “Because we know that the wrist watch device we have helped develop gives us a more accurate reading of blood pressure at the level of the heart, we can use it to measure the effectiveness of current treatments to lower blood pressure. This study could allow us to identify those patients most at risk of life threatening conditions like stroke and heart disease and enable us to treat them early. It will also help us to better define those people who do not need treatment and can be reassured that their blood pressure is normal.
“The results of this study could change the way we measure blood pressure for the first time for more than 100 years”, he said.
The study was published in the June edition of the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. To read the study in full click here.
