Medical benefits of BloodPressureDB
What benefit do patients get from using BloodPressureDB to monitor their blood pressure?
We analyzed our users' blood pressure readings, of course anonymized. The data were collected to demonstrate positive care effects as part of a trial under § 139e(4) of Book Five of the Social Code.
In the analysis we included users who recorded at least 5 measurements during the first 8 days of use and at least 5 measurements in the period 90 to 97 days after first use. The average blood pressure in the first 8 days had to be at least 140/90 (that could mean an elevated systolic or diastolic pressure alone). The analysis was carried out in early 2022 with user accounts created from January 2021 onwards.
Result:
High blood pressure at baseline (>=140 or >=90)
Accounts: 2229
of which on medication: 850
Guest: 616
of which on medication: 100
Of those with normal blood pressure at the end (<140 and <90)
Accounts: 1338 (about 60%)
of which on medication: 519 (about 61%)
Guest: 334 (about 54%)
of which on medication: 58 (about 58%)
Total: 1672 of 2845 (about 59%)
Change
Users without meds: -10.12/-5.88
Users with meds: -12.10/-7.07
Guest without meds: -8.50/-4.82
Guest with meds: -9.50/-5.95
Accounts: 2229
of which on medication: 850
Guest: 616
of which on medication: 100
Of those with normal blood pressure at the end (<140 and <90)
Accounts: 1338 (about 60%)
of which on medication: 519 (about 61%)
Guest: 334 (about 54%)
of which on medication: 58 (about 58%)
Total: 1672 of 2845 (about 59%)
Change
Users without meds: -10.12/-5.88
Users with meds: -12.10/-7.07
Guest without meds: -8.50/-4.82
Guest with meds: -9.50/-5.95
This means that nearly 60% of our users who had high blood pressure at the start show normal blood pressure after 90 days.
<irony>That's a sensation. The app cures high blood pressure in two-thirds of all patients in one quarter. Blood pressure is reduced by 10 or 8.5 mmHg even without medication!</irony>
That's one way to read it, and unfortunately some others do so. But of course that's not true. There are reasons for that:
1. Just because someone doesn't enter their medication in the app doesn't mean they're not taking any.
2. There is a huge selection bias, meaning a distortion, because people who seriously want to fight their are more likely to use an app. These people may also have started changing their lifestyle at the same time. That can't be generalized.
In other words: without a randomized control group, statements about blood pressure reduction are not meaningful. The gold standard would be a placebocontrolled trial. That's not possible here, since people can tell whether they're using an app or not. Therefore, the results' significance would have to be very pronounced. The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices repeatedly points out a large placebo effect in hypertension.
And these are exactly the reasons why we don't yet have a study on the medical benefits of BloodPressureDB. To do this properly, you'd need to study a very large number of patients. Such a study is simply far beyond our resources.
What we can more easily show is that app users simply understand the topic better, measure their blood pressure more regularly, and take their medication more reliably.
Comparison to DiGAs
In a realworld cohort of 487 anonymized BloodPressureDB users on ongoing antihypertensive therapy, the systolic blood pressure fell after 13weeks by an average of 12.2mmHg (95% CI 13.1 11.2). The observed changes are of a similar magnitude to the HELP study on the (former) DiGA Vantis (12.4mmHg) and the HYPE study on the DiGA "Oviva Direkt Bluthochdruck" (11.2mmHg), but are not directly comparable because of the nonrandomized design. The full population of all eligible app users (n=1951) showed a reduction of 10.6mmHg a clinically relevant value. This shows that relevant changes in measured blood pressure can be observed during app use, without a causal treatment effect being deduced from this.
Long-term analysis
In January 2024 we analyzed how users' blood pressure developed over 5 years (60 months).
This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands of people monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based information and is continuously updated (as of 02/2026).
Author Horst Klier has been dealing intensively with high blood pressure since 2002 – initially from personal experience and since 2009 as a developer of BloodPressureDB – and, thanks to his app and specialist platform used millions of times and numerous publications, he is now regarded as an established blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he explains complex topics clearly and in a practical way.
Author Horst Klier has been dealing intensively with high blood pressure since 2002 – initially from personal experience and since 2009 as a developer of BloodPressureDB – and, thanks to his app and specialist platform used millions of times and numerous publications, he is now regarded as an established blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he explains complex topics clearly and in a practical way.
