Continuous Blood Pressure Monitoring Pred...(le with resistant hypertension but often...),Health

"We tell all our patients to invest in a home monitor," Calhoun said. "Once we have done that and have confidence in their measurements, we have them keep a blood pressure diary and bring it in each week as a guide to decision-making."

Dr. John Bisognano, associate professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of Rochester, in New York, said continuous monitoring doesn't solve the basic problem with resistant hypertension, which is that "these are people who need better blood pressure control."

"It's like putting a better thermometer in a burning building," he said. "It doesn't really matter whether you get more accurate temperatures or not."

Continuous monitoring is of more value for people with borderline hypertension, Bisognano said. "It can tell you whether to initiate treatment and how intensely you need to treat them," he said.

More information

The American Heart Association has guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of resistant hypertension.

SOURCES: William C. Cushman, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis; David A. Calhoun, M.D., professor of medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham; John Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and cardiology, University of Rochester, N.Y.; Nov. 24, 2008, Arcives of Internal Medicine