Prompting patients to do at-home blood pressure monitoring can reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart disease, a new study published in the European Heart Journal-Digital Health says.
People were 34 percent less likely to be hospitalized or die from a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure if they self-monitored their blood pressure at home and shared the readings with their doctors.
“This study provides the strongest evidence to date that telemonitoring not only reduces blood pressure but strokes and heart attacks too,” senior researcher Dr. Brian McKinstry said in a news release. He’s an emeritus professor of primary care eHealth with the University of Edinburgh in the U.K.
For the new study, researchers analyzed data for around 450,000 patients with high blood pressure treated between 2019 and 2022 across Scotland. Of those, 9,500 used a remote monitoring service called Connect Me BP.
The at-home blood pressure monitoring service texted reminders for patients to check their blood pressure at home, and collected patients’ readings. The service then forwarded reports to the people’s doctors, who reached out to patients as needed.
Those who took part in telemonitoring saw a reduction in their blood pressure within the first three months, and it remained lowered for more than a year.
This lower blood pressure translated into a 34 percent lower risk of heart problems, compared to those folks not participating in remote monitoring, researchers concluded.
“Stroke, heart attack, and heart failure are major causes of death and disability, and anything which reduces the risk is worthwhile,” lead researcher Janet Hanley, an associate professor at Edinburgh Napier University, said in a news release. “Blood pressure telemonitoring does this by helping people improve their blood pressure control and is easy and convenient to use.”
Future studies should look into whether people with higher heart risk might derive even greater benefits from telemonitoring, researchers said.
“High blood pressure raises your risk of having a heart attack and stroke, and once people are diagnosed, they must be monitored closely to ensure it is being effectively treated,” James Leiper, director of research at the British Heart Association, said in a news release.
“This study is further evidence that empowering people to check their blood pressure regularly at home, and send their results to a doctor, with regular reminders to do so, is an efficient approach that could help improve people’s blood pressure control,” continued Leiper, who was not involved in the study.
“The reduction in the risk of hospitalizations and deaths from serious cardiovascular events seen in this study is encouraging. Innovative approaches like these could help people to live well for longer,” he concluded.
More information
RAND has more about remote monitoring of blood pressure.
SOURCES: University of Edinburgh, news release, June 11, 2026; European Heart Journal – Digital Health, May 26, 2026
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