Home Blood Pressure Measurements Are Not Performed According to Guidelines and Standardized Education Is Urgently Needed.

Background: Patient education is needed to perform home blood pressure measurement (HBPM) according to blood pressure (BP) guidelines. It is not known how BP is measured at home and what education is provided, which was the aim of the study.

Methods: Mixed-methods study among Australian adults who perform HBPM (June to December 2023).

It is strongly recommended to not conduct, fund, or publish research studies that use spot urine samples with estimating equations to assess individuals' sodium (salt) intake in association with health outcomes: a policy statement of the World Hypertension League, International Society of Hypertension and Resolve to Save Lives.

Spot urine samples with estimating equations have been used to assess individuals' sodium (salt) intake in association with health outcomes. There is large random and systematic error in estimating sodium intake using this method and spurious health outcome associations. Substantial controversy has resulted from false claims the method is valid.

How to Improve Awareness, Treatment, and Control of Hypertension in Africa, and How to Reduce Its Consequences: A Call to Action From the World Hypertension League.

Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and disability globally. In low- and middle-income countries hypertension has a major social impact, increasing the disease burden and costs for national health systems. The present call to action aims to stimulate all African countries to adopt several solutions to achieve better hypertension management.

24-Hour Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion and Cardiovascular Risk.

Background: The relation between sodium intake and cardiovascular disease remains controversial, owing in part to inaccurate assessment of sodium intake. Assessing 24-hour urinary excretion over a period of multiple days is considered to be an accurate method.

Methods: We included individual-participant data from six prospective cohorts of generally healthy adults; sodium and potassium excretion was assessed with the use of at least two 24-hour urine samples per participant.

Spot Urine Formulas to Estimate 24-Hour Urinary Sodium Excretion Alter the Dietary Sodium and Blood Pressure Relationship.

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The 2020 "WHO Technical Specifications for Automated Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Measuring Devices With Cuff".

High systolic blood pressure (BP) is the single leading modifiable risk factor for death worldwide. Accurate BP measurement is the cornerstone for screening, diagnosis, and management of hypertension. Inaccurate BP measurement is a leading patient safety challenge.

[Optimizing observer performance of clinic blood Pressure measurement: a position statement from the Lancet Commission on Hypertension GroupOtimização do desempenho do observador na medição clínica da pressão arterial: posicionamento do Grupo da ].

High blood pressure (BP) is a highly prevalent modifiable cause of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and death. Accurate BP measurement is critical, given that a 5-mmHg measurement error may lead to incorrect hypertension status classification in 84 million individuals worldwide. This position statement summarizes procedures for optimizing observer performance in clinic BP measurement, with special attention given to low-tomiddle- income settings, where resource limitations, heavy workloads, time constraints, and lack of electrical power make measurement more challenging.

Nonvalidated Home Blood Pressure Devices Dominate the Online Marketplace in Australia: Major Implications for Cardiovascular Risk Management.

Self-home blood pressure (BP) monitoring is recommended to guide clinical decisions on hypertension and is used worldwide for cardiovascular risk management. People usually make their own decisions when purchasing BP devices, which can be made online. If patients purchase nonvalidated devices (those not proven accurate according to internationally accepted standards), hypertension management may be based on inaccurate readings resulting in under- or over-diagnosis or treatment.

Formulas to Estimate Dietary Sodium Intake From Spot Urine Alter Sodium-Mortality Relationship.

To study the effect of formulas on the estimation of dietary sodium intake (sodium intake) and its association with mortality, we analyzed the TOHP (Trials of Hypertension Prevention) follow-up data. Sodium intake was assessed by measured 24-hour urinary sodium excretion and estimations from sodium concentration using the Kawasaki, Tanaka, and INTERSALT (International Cooperative Study on Salt, Other Factors, and Blood Pressure) formulas. We used both the average of 3 to 7 urinary measurements during the trial period and the first measurement at the beginning of each trial.

A Systematic Review of Fatalities Related to Acute Ingestion of Salt. A Need for Warning Labels?

There are sporadic cases of fatalities from acutely eating salt. Yet, on social media, there are "challenges to" and examples of children and some adults acutely eating salt, and recently a charity advocated eating small amounts of salt to empathize with Syrian refugees. We performed a systematic review of fatalities from ingesting salt to assess if relatively moderate doses of salt could be fatal.

Healthcare Costs Attributable to Hypertension: Canadian Population-Based Cohort Study.

Accurately documenting the current and future costs of hypertension is required to fully understand the potential economic impact of currently available and future interventions to prevent and treat hypertension. The objective of this work was to calculate the healthcare costs attributable to hypertension in Canada and to project these costs to 2020. Using population-based administrative data for the province of Alberta, Canada (>3 million residents) from 2002 to 2010, we identified individuals with and without diagnosed hypertension.

Randomized Trial of the Effect of Pharmacist Prescribing on Improving Blood Pressure in the Community: The Alberta Clinical Trial in Optimizing Hypertension (RxACTION).

Background: Hypertension control rates remain suboptimal. Pharmacists' scope of practice is evolving, and their position in the community may be ideal for improving hypertension care. We aimed to study the impact of pharmacist prescribing on blood pressure (BP) control in community-dwelling patients.