L’automisurazione domiciliare della pressione: istruzioni per l’uso e sua utilità nel paziente anziano

High blood pressure is still the main culprit of cardiovascular deaths in the Western world because its treatment - despite the advances in therapy and diagnostics - is not yet as effective as it could be today. Last European Guidelines on the management of hypertension have recognized an important role to HBPM and ABPM in the PA assessment, recommending that most of hypertensive patients use HBPM, while the ABPM should be restricted to selected cases. However, to be properly evaluated, the results of HBPM should be reliable and consistent with each other; i.e.: devices validated by a third independent parties should be used; methods for self-measurements should be standardized, avoiding behaviours that could affect the results, and data should be reported in manner and in sufficient number to be interpreted. In this way, HBPM can be useful for diagnosing cases of ICH and MH and as a guide for therapy management. The correct identification of hypertension and its severity, could benefit from HBPM even in older patients, as long as used properly and evaluated in qualified Centres, in order to better understand patient’s response to the on going therapy, never over-treat an ICH and, at the same time, do not overlook a MH.