A randomized controlled pilot study investigating adherence to blood pressure diaries with personal pictures in stroke follow-up care.

INTRODUCTION

Blood pressure (BP) management is essential in secondary stroke prevention. Strategies to ensure continuous home BP monitoring are needed. Few studies investigated factors influencing adherence to home BP management. Therefore, we designed a pilot study to investigate the feasibility of keeping BP diaries (BPDs) with personal images.

METHODS

In this prospective trial, we randomized persons with a diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack into two groups: (i) 10 patients received a personalized BPD with pictures of their choosing and (ii) 10 patients received a BPD without photographs. We instructed participants in both groups to document their BP at home twice daily over 28 days. Adherence was defined as the number of BP measurements performed relative to the maximum number of recommended measurements. We assessed patient reported outcomes as exploratory endpoints.

RESULTS

We found no statistically significant difference in mean adherence between the control group (64%) and the intervention group (69%). The BP was within the recommended range and precision of documentation was high in both groups, without statistically significant differences. Patient reported outcomes such as depression scores did not differ significantly between study groups.

CONCLUSION

Our findings underline the relevance to investigate aspects of adherence to home BP management suggesting the inclusion of patient-provided pictures to be feasible.