Patients Beat High Blood Pressure With IDEAL LIFE Remote Health Monitoring

Main Category: Hypertension
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 19 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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A new study reveals that 900 hypertensive patients using IDEAL LIFE remote health management devices to monitor their blood pressure effectively reduced their systolic blood pressure (SYS) by an average of 10 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). For many patients, this decrease brought them below 140 mmHg, the level traditionally defined as the threshold for "high" blood pressure.

"Basically, the patients in this study went from being hypertensive to having blood pressures considered within a normal range," said William (Bill) Courtright, MD. "Monitoring their blood pressure with the IDEAL LIFE system allowed for timely adjustments and better disease management."

IDEAL LIFE recently received Frost & Sullivan's prestigious 2009 Customer Value Leadership Award in recognition of its remote monitoring technology and services. The company's wireless devices work with cell phones, telephone lines, and the Internet, and have a 99.5 percent compliance rate due to affordability and ease-of-use.

The results of the IDEAL LIFE study are of great interest to healthcare experts, particularly because the patient population was significantly larger than that of other hypertension studies. Patients used a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitor, the IDEAL LIFE BP Manager, to wirelessly and automatically capture, store, and send daily blood pressure readings to a designated healthcare provider. At the conclusion of the six-month review:

- Patients experienced an average decrease in systolic blood pressure of 9 mmHg
- 48 percent of patients had a decrease of 10 mmHg or more
- 61 percent had a decrease of 5 mm Hg or more
- 42 percent with a SYS of greater than 150 mmHg had an average decrease of 19 mmHg
- The greatest SYS reduction recorded for a single individual was 77 mmHg (from 221 to 144)
- Adjustments in medications and improved health for 50 percent of participating patients
- Lower costs and better outcomes for payers and providers

The study's findings indicate that there is good reason to be wary of "the white coat effect," where patients experience artificially high blood pressure readings in the physician's office. A substantial proportion of patients on antihypertensive medication are being over-treated due to this "white coat" phenomenon.

"The differentiating factor with IDEAL LIFE is that blood pressure readings are automatically transmitted," said Martin Myers, MD, FRCPC, an internationally known authority on hypertension. "That removes one of the concerns we had about home-based measurements. Patients don't always keep reliable records, but with the IDEAL LIFE approach, readings are automatic and completely accurate."

"This study clearly demonstrates how important it is to have accurate, timely, reliable health information," said Jason Goldberg, founder and president of IDEAL LIFE. "The right data at the right time can make all the difference in terms of savings and quality of life."

Source
Ideal Life, Inc.

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