Omron Announces 'Home Blood Pressure Survey' in Celebration of May as Blood Pressure Measurement Month

Korean Society of Hypertension Home Blood Pressure Forum: "Blood Pressure Should Be Measured Twice Each Morning and Evening at Home Consistently"

[Omron, Survey Results Infographic]

Healthcare brand Korea Omron Healthcare has announced the results of a survey investigating the status of blood pressure management at home in celebration of "May Blood Pressure Measurement Month."

This survey, conducted on 300 hypertensive patients aged 30 to 69 nationwide, was carried out to raise awareness of the risks of "hypertension," a major risk factor for various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and to emphasize the importance of consistent blood pressure measurement at home.

According to the survey conducted by Omron, the most common health management method practiced by hypertensive patients to manage their blood pressure was "exercise (63.3%)," followed by taking hypertension medication (57%) and dietary control (51.3%). On the other hand, only 40.7% responded that they "consistently measure their blood pressure at home," and among the 201 people using home blood pressure monitors, only 11.4% measured their blood pressure daily, indicating a lack of awareness regarding home blood pressure measurement.

When asked about the accuracy of home blood pressure measurements, 60.7% responded negatively, with answers such as "not accurate (28.7%)" or "don't know (25.3%)." The reasons given for believing that home measurements were inaccurate included "not as accurate as hospital blood pressure monitors (41.5%)," "there is a large difference between hospital and home blood pressure readings (32.1%)," and "results were measured directly without a doctor or nurse (21.7%)."

Furthermore, only 44.7% of respondents recognized that blood pressure readings can temporarily vary depending on the situation, such as in white coat hypertension (where blood pressure is normal at home but temporarily rises due to anxiety and tension in front of a doctor) or masked hypertension (where blood pressure is normal at the hospital but elevated at home). Only 11.7% knew that the diagnostic criteria for hypertension differ between hospital and home measurements.

Experts emphasize the importance of home blood pressure measurement, stating, "Since blood pressure readings can vary depending on the patient's condition at the time of measurement, consistent home blood pressure monitoring is necessary to track blood pressure levels over a long period." They add, "Measuring blood pressure only at the hospital results in longer intervals between measurements, making accurate blood pressure tracking difficult, and may lead to incorrect prescriptions due to white coat or masked hypertension."

In fact, the Korean Society of Hypertension launched the Home Blood Pressure Forum in 2017 and has actively conducted educational and promotional activities to encourage blood pressure measurement at home. They have published an educational booklet titled , recommending regular blood pressure measurements twice daily, in the morning and evening, at home.

Meanwhile, the "K-MMM Campaign," officially sponsored by Korea Omron Healthcare for three consecutive years since 2019, is a public campaign to raise awareness of the risks of hypertension and the importance of blood pressure measurement. It is organized by the Korean Society of Hypertension and co-hosted by related government agencies such as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the National Health Insurance Service. This year, under the theme "Find Women’s Hypertension," various programs such as a YouTube contest and an SNS blood pressure measurement challenge are being held over May and June.

Kim Ji-hong, Executive Director of Sales at Korea Omron Healthcare, said, "Since hypertension has almost no noticeable symptoms, it is important to measure blood pressure at home to understand one's usual blood pressure." He added, "Omron leads the way in enhancing the accuracy and convenience of home blood pressure measurement with internationally certified blood pressure monitors that have passed clinical trials by global certification bodies such as AAMI (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation) and ESH (European Society of Hypertension)."