Revolutionary blood pressure device

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDFeb 21 2011

A latest device that looks like a watch “could revolutionize blood pressure monitoring”. The device tied to the wrist can estimate pressure in the aorta, the largest artery in the body.

The device actually combines blood pressure readings from the wrist and upper-arm to estimate central aortic systolic pressure (CASP). This measure of pressure in the aorta is thought to be a better way of predicting heart problems than traditional measures of blood pressure, such as using an inflatable cuff around the bicep. The idea of placing the device on the wrist is not new but the technique is a new one.

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Leicester, the National Institute for Health Research, Gleneagles Medical Centre in Singapore and Healthstats International in Singapore. The research work was funded by the Department of Health's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR has invested £3.4 million, with a further £2.2 million of funding from the Department of Health to establish a Biomedical Research Unit at Glenfield Hospital. It was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

CASP till date can be best measured by inserting a pressure sensor into the aorta, but this is invasive and is usually only done when people undergo a procedure known as cardiac catheterization. For this study researchers tested the application of a mathematical approach to calculate the CASP. For the first part of the study they involved 217 volunteers. In the second study, they used blood pressure readings taken as part of a large study that ran in Leicester over the course of five years. From this, they had 5,349 individual blood pressure readings to validate their new approach to calculating the central aortic pressure. The final part of the experiment included 20 adults undergoing routine diagnostic cardiac catheterization at the Gleneagles Medical Centre in Singapore. Their CASP was measured near the aortic valve directly in the heart. The new device was also placed simultaneously. Both results were compared.

Professor Bryan Williams, from the University of Leicester’s department of cardiovascular sciences at Glenfield Hospital, said he expected the technology to be in use shortly in specialist centers before being rolled out. “Within five years I think this is going to be used much more widely,” he said.