How this fits in
Out-of-office blood pressure (BP) measurement is increasingly common but cardiovascular risk scores were developed using clinic BP measurements. It is unclear how estimates of cardiovascular risk may be affected by the use of out-of-office measurements in risk prediction algorithms. The present study has shown that differences in risk are generally small and few patients are reclassified across treatment thresholds when using different BP measurements. Extra care on the part of clinicians may be warranted in subgroups with large BP differences or those with risk estimates close to risk thresholds.
HOMERUS was a randomised trial in patients with essential hypertension aged >18 years from the Netherlands. Patients with a history of cardiovascular disease or other severe disease were excluded. Patients were randomised into an office or home monitoring group with antihypertensive treatment adjusted accordingly. Three office BP measurements were taken in the non-dominant arm at each visit using an automated oscillometric device (Omron 705, Japan).26 Home BP measurements (three in the morning and evening over 7 days) were made with the same monitor before each study visit. ABPM was carried out at the beginning and end of the study (following treatment washout and at optimal titration respectively) with readings every 15 minutes from 07.00–23.00 and every 30 minutes overnight. For this analysis, patients aged 25–84 years from the intervention arm only were included, due to the age restrictions of the QRISK2 risk equation.