Medical Benefits of BloodPressureDB
What benefits do patients have who use BloodPressureDB to monitor their blood pressure?
We have analyzed the blood pressure values of our users, of course anonymized. The data was collected to demonstrate positive care effects as part of a trial under § 139e paragraph 4 of the Fifth Book of the Social Code.
In the evaluation, we included users who recorded at least 5 measurements in the first 8 days of use and at least 5 measurements in the period 90 to 97 days after the first use. The average blood pressure in the first 8 days should be at least 140/90. (both systolic systolic or diastolic pressure). The evaluation was conducted in early 2022 with user accounts that were created from January 2021.
Result:
High blood pressure at the beginning (>=140 or >=90)
Accounts: 2229
of which with meds: 850
Guest: 616
of which with meds: 100
Of these, at the end normal blood pressure (<140 and <90)
Accounts: 1338 (corresponds to 60%)
of which with meds: 519 (corresponds to 61%)
Guest: 334 (corresponds to 54%)
of which with meds: 58 (corresponds to 58%)
Total: 1672 out of 2845 (corresponds to 59%)
Delta
Users without meds: -10.12/-5.88
Users with meds: -12.10/-7.07
Guests without meds: -8.50/-4.82
Guests with meds: -9.50/-5.95
Accounts: 2229
of which with meds: 850
Guest: 616
of which with meds: 100
Of these, at the end normal blood pressure (<140 and <90)
Accounts: 1338 (corresponds to 60%)
of which with meds: 519 (corresponds to 61%)
Guest: 334 (corresponds to 54%)
of which with meds: 58 (corresponds to 58%)
Total: 1672 out of 2845 (corresponds to 59%)
Delta
Users without meds: -10.12/-5.88
Users with meds: -12.10/-7.07
Guests without meds: -8.50/-4.82
Guests with meds: -9.50/-5.95
This means that almost 60% of our users who initially have high blood pressure can show normal blood pressure after 90 days.
This is indeed a sensation. The app cures high blood pressure in 2/3 of all patients in a quarter. Blood pressure is also reduced by 10 or 8.5 mmHg without medication!
At least thats how one could read it, and unfortunately, some others do as well. But of course, that is not true. There are reasons for this:
1. Just because someone does not enter their medications in the app does not mean they are not taking any.
2. There is a huge selection bias, meaning a distortion, because it is more likely that people who seriously want to combat their high blood pressure use an app. These people may also have started changing their lifestyle at the same time. This cannot be generalized.
In other words: Without a randomized control group, statements about blood pressure reduction are not meaningful. The gold standard would be a placebo-controlled study. However, this is not possible here, as one can already tell whether one is using an app or not. Accordingly, the significance in the results would have to be more than clear. The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices repeatedly points out a high placebo effect in high blood pressure.
In detail, there are still questions to clarify regarding who is credited with the blood pressure reduction. If a patient realizes through the app that their blood pressure is not well controlled and talks to their doctor, who adjusts the medication, is this now an effect of the app, the doctor, or the medications?
And these are exactly the reasons why we do not yet have a study on the medical benefits of BloodPressureDB. To do this properly, the examination of a very large number of patients is necessary. Such a study is simply far beyond what our resources can provide.
What we can more easily prove is that the users of the app simply understand the topic better, measure their blood pressure more regularly, and take their medications more reliably.
In January 2024, we evaluated how the blood pressure of users developed over 5 years (60 months).
By Horst Klier.
This article is medically reviewed. Last updated by Sabine Croci (06/2024).
Information on the website and within the app cannot replace a consultation with a doctor, but can certainly complement it.
