Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Linked to Fewer Cardiovascular Events

Hypertension is a leading cause of myocardial infarction and stroke, yet it often progresses without symptoms. Uncontrolled blood pressure contributes to avoidable hospitalizations, deaths, and health system burden. To address this challenge, researchers evaluated a home blood pressure telemonitoring program that transmits patient readings directly to clinicians and compared outcomes with standard care.

The digital telemonitoring system, Connect Me BP, enables people with hypertension to measure and record blood pressure at home. Readings are shared with clinicians, and the system issues reminders when measurements are due. The evaluation was conducted by Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Edinburgh.

Investigators performed a records-based, matched patient analysis using data from almost 450,000 adults with hypertension across Scotland between 2019 and 2022. Approximately 9,500 individuals used Connect Me BP, while the remainder received standard care managed by their general practitioners. Findings were published in European Heart Journal–Digital Health on May 26, 2026.

Participants using telemonitoring experienced blood pressure reductions within the first three months that were sustained for more than a year. Compared with standard care, they had significantly fewer cardiovascular events, hospitalizations, and deaths. The results extend prior evidence that telemonitoring improves blood pressure control by directly linking the approach to hard outcomes.

The authors noted potential residual confounding because telemonitoring users were younger, required fewer antihypertensive medications, and were less socioeconomically deprived than the broader cohort. They called for further research to assess additional risk factors and to determine whether the program should be extended to higher‑risk groups. Scotland has deployed the technology at scale, with 130,000 people reported to have used Connect Me BP for both diagnosis and ongoing control.

“Stroke, heart attack and heart failure are major causes of death and disability, and anything that reduces the risk is worthwhile. Blood pressure telemonitoring does this by helping people improve their blood pressure control and is easy and convenient to use,” said Janet Hanley, lead author and associate professor in the Cardiovascular Health Research Centre at Edinburgh Napier University.

“This study provides the strongest evidence to date that telemonitoring not only reduces blood pressure but strokes and heart attacks too. It is important that we enable people from the most socioeconomically deprived parts of the country who are most at risk of these conditions to benefit from it,” added Brian McKinstry, from the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute.

Related Links
Edinburgh Napier University
University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute