Medical benefits of BloodPressureDB
How do patients benefit from using BloodPressureDB to monitor their blood pressure?
We analyzed our users' blood pressure values, of course anonymized. The data were collected to demonstrate positive care effects as part of a trial under Section 139e(4) of the Fifth Book of the Social Code.
In the analysis 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 first use. The average blood pressure in the first 8 days had to be at least 140/90. (Either both values or just an elevated systolic or diastolic pressure.) The analysis was done in early 2022 with user accounts created from January 2021 onward.
Result:
High blood pressure at start (>=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 (equals 60%)
of which on medication: 519 (equals 61%)
Guest: 334 (equals 54%)
of which on medication: 58 (equals 58%)
Overall: 1672 of 2845 (equals 59%)
Delta
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 (equals 60%)
of which on medication: 519 (equals 61%)
Guest: 334 (equals 54%)
of which on medication: 58 (equals 58%)
Overall: 1672 of 2845 (equals 59%)
Delta
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
That means nearly 60% of our users who started with high blood pressure showed normal blood pressure after 90 days.
This sounds like a sensation. The app cures high blood pressure in two-thirds of patients within a quarter. Blood pressure is reduced by 10 or 8.5 mmHg even without medication!
You could read it that way, and unfortunately some people do. But of course that's not correct. There are reasons:
1. Just because someone doesn't enter their medications in the app doesn't mean they're not taking them.
2. There is a huge selection bias, meaning a distortion, because people who use an app are more likely to be those who seriously want to tackle their high blood pressure. 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, claims about blood pressure reduction aren't reliable. The gold standard would be a placebo-controlled trial. That isn't feasible here, because people can tell whether they're using an app or not. So any effect would have to be very clear. Germanys Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices has repeatedly warned of a large placebo effect in high blood pressure.
And these are exactly the reasons why we don't yet have a study on the medical benefit of BloodPressureDB. To do this properly would require studying a very large number of patients. Such a study is well beyond our available resources.
What we can more easily demonstrate is that app users understand the topic better, measure their blood pressure more regularly, and take their medication more reliably.
Comparison with DiGAs
In a real-world cohort of 487 anonymized BloodPressureDB users on ongoing antihypertensive therapy, systolic blood pressure fell on average by 12.2 mmHg after 13 weeks (95% CI 13.1 11.2). This practically matches the effect in the randomized HELP study for the (former) DiGA Vantis (12.4 mmHg). The overall population of all qualified app users (n = 1 951) showed a reduction of 10.6 mmHg a clinically relevant value that underlines the app's effectiveness even outside the medication context.
Long-term analysis
In January 2024 we evaluated 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 monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 06/2024).
Author Horst Klier has been intensively involved with high blood pressure since 2002 initially from personal experience and, since 2009, as the developer of BloodPressureDB. Thanks to his app and specialist platform used by millions as well as numerous publications, he is now regarded as a recognised blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he makes complex information understandable and practical.
Author Horst Klier has been intensively involved with high blood pressure since 2002 initially from personal experience and, since 2009, as the developer of BloodPressureDB. Thanks to his app and specialist platform used by millions as well as numerous publications, he is now regarded as a recognised blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he makes complex information understandable and practical.
