May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Armenia.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide and is the leading cause of mortality and disability-adjusted life years all over the world. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed to increase awareness of high BP initiated by the International Society of Hypertension, to identify individuals in need of improved hypertension care, and to improve BP screening worldwide. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 years was carried out in accordance with standard MMM protocol in 2021. The study was conducted in public areas, both indoor and outdoor, as well as in primary and secondary healthcare centres. A total of 5777 individuals (mean age 51.8 ± 16.1 years, 49.8% female) were screened. After imputation, 45.7% participants had hypertension and 43.7% of them were aware of their high BP. Of 2640 participants with hypertension, 887 (33.6%) were on antihypertensive treatment, of whom 32.4% were on single medication, 29.7% on two medications, and 37.9% on three or more. Only 42.2% of those on medication had controlled BP (<140/90 mmHg), whereas of the participants with hypertension overall, 14.2% had controlled BP. We found that the prevalence of inadequately treated hypertension remains high in Armenia and may represent a vital contributor to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Armenia.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is an enormous public health problem and a growing burden worldwide and the biggest single risk factor for cardiovascular death. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed to raise awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 years was carried out in May to July 2019. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The study was conducted in public areas (23 sites in the capital city Yerevan and 13 in other regions), both indoor and outdoor, as well as in primary and secondary healthcare centres. In total, 9818 individuals (11.3% participated in either MMM2017/2018 or both) were screened of which 9786 had three BP measurements available, 1.6% of them reported never having had their BP measured. The mean age of screened participants was 47.6 (SD ± 16.5) years, 61.9% were female. After multiple imputation, 41.6% of participants had hypertension and 72.8% of them were aware of their high BP, 65.4% were on treatment, and of those treated, 46.5% had controlled BP (<140/90 mmHg). Of 4088 participants with hypertension, 30.4% had controlled BP. Of all risk factors analysed, reported use of anti-hypertensive medication and a previous diagnosis of hypertension were the strongest predictors of higher levels of BP. We found that the prevalence of hypertension, untreated and treated, but uncontrolled hypertension is still substantial in Armenia, which maybe a vital contributor to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

An analysis of blood pressure screening of 21 112 participants in Armenia: May Measurement Month 2018.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide and is the leading cause of mortality and disability-adjusted life years all over the world. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed to raise awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 was carried out in May to July 2018. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension (HTN) and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The study was conducted in public areas (17 sites in Yerevan and 22 in regions), both indoor and outdoor, as well as in 78 primary care centres. A total of 21 112 individuals were screened during MMM18, of which 20 732 had three BP measurements available. The mean age of screened individuals was 46.2 ± 17.3 years, 57.8% were female. At the time of screening, 26.1% were on antihypertensive medication. After imputation, the percentage of participants with HTN was 38.7%, and 76.7% of them were aware of their high BP. Of participants receiving treatment, 47.1% had a controlled BP. MMM18 was the largest BP screening campaign undertaken in Armenia. We found that the proportion of HTN is substantial in Armenia, which may be a vital contributor to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Our results also suggest that untreated HTN is common and when treated still not adequately controlled in Armenia. The current situation, with an insufficient control rate of HTN, must be changed as soon as possible.

May Measurement Month 2017: an analysis of blood pressure screening results in Armenia-Europe.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 was carried out in May 2017. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The study was conducted in public areas (14 sites in Yerevan and 18 in regions), both indoor and outdoor, as well as in 42 primary care centres. A total of 9199 individuals were screened during MMM17 of which 9186 had three BP measurements available. The mean age of screened individuals was 50 ± 16.7 years, 57.3% was female. At the time of screening 17.9% were on antihypertensive medication. After imputation, a percentage of participants with hypertension was 33.9%, and 52.9% of them were on treatment. Of those treated, 77.0% had uncontrolled BP. MMM17 was the largest BP screening campaign undertaken in Armenia. We found that in Armenia, untreated hypertension is common, as is not adequately treated hypertension.

Accuracy of the Withings BPM Connect Device for Self-Blood Pressure Measurements in General Population - Validation According to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/European Society of Hypertension/International Organization for Standardization Universal Standard.

Background: As recommended by various authorities and scientific societies, electronic devices for blood pressure (BP) measurements must undergo independent clinical validations for accuracy assessment. Objective: To assess the accuracy of the Withings BPM Connect device in the general population according to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/European Society of Hypertension/International Organization for Standardization "AAMI/ESH/ISO Universal Standard (ISO 81060-2:2018)". Methods: The Withings BPM Connect device measures BP at the brachial level using the oscillometric method. According to this protocol using the same-arm sequential BP measurement method, subjects (n ≥ 85) fulfilling the age, gender, BP and cuff distribution criteria must be included. Two criteria are used for the analysis: Criterion 1: differences between observers' mercury sphygmomanometer reference measurements and test device BP values (test versus reference) and their standard deviation (SD) must be ≤5 ± 8 mmHg for both systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). Criterion 2: the SD of the mean BP differences between the test device and reference BP per subject must be ≤6.91/6.62 mmHg for SBP/DBP. Results: Ninety-two subjects were selected, 85 of whom were included. For validation criterion 1, the mean difference ± SD between the reference and device BP values was 0.6 ± 5.3 mmHg for SBP and 2.1 ± 4.3 mmHg for DBP. For criterion 2, the SD of the mean BP differences between the test device and reference BP per subject was 4.2/3.6 mmHg (SBP/DBP). These results fulfilled the AAMI/ESH/ISO Universal Standard (ISO 81060-2:2018) protocol requirements. Conclusion: The Withings BPM Connect oscillometric device for home BP measurement fulfilled all of the accuracy requirements of the AAMI/ESH/ISO Universal Standard (ISO 81060-2:2018) in general population and consequently can be recommended for home BP measurements.

Clinical Accuracy of the Withings BPM Connect for Self-Blood Pressure Measurements in Pregnancy and Pre-Eclampsia: Validation According to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/European Society of Hypertension/International Organization for Standardization Universal Standard.

Background: Electronic devices for blood pressure (BP) measurements require independent clinical validation as recommended by various authorities/societies, both in general and special populations such as pregnancy. Objective: To assess the accuracy of the Withings BPM Connect device in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia according to the Universal Standard Validation Protocol. Methods: The Withings BPM Connect device measures BP at the brachial level using the oscillometric method. The study was performed according to the so-called "modified AAMI/ESH/ISO (ISO 81060-2:2018) protocol" or the "Universal Standard Protocol". The validation study included 45 pregnant women in the second and third gestational trimester: 15 with pre-eclampsia, 15 with gestational hypertension and 15 normotensives. Differences between mercury sphygmomanometer BP measurements (reference) and device BP values (test) and their standard deviation (SD) were calculated. Results: The mean differences between the mercury standard and device BP values in pregnancy (n = 45) were -0.5 ± 5.7 mmHg for systolic BP (SBP) and -0.8 ± 3.8 mmHg for diastolic BP (DBP). In the preeclamptic patients (n = 15), the mean differences were 0.14 ± 5.5 mmHg for SBP and 0.39 ± 3.7 mmHg for DBP. These results fulfilled the protocol requirements (<5 ± 8 mmHg). Conclusion: The Withings BPM Connect fulfills the validation protocol criteria in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. Consequently, this device can be recommended for home BP measurements in this specific pregnancy population.