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Self-monitoring of psychological stress-induced blood pressure in daily life using a wearable watch-type oscillometric device in working individuals with hypertension

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 1531–1537 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

This study investigated psychological stress-induced blood pressure (BP) elevation according to self-measured data obtained by a wearable watch-type oscillometric device for multiple days in 50 working hypertension patients (mean ± SD age: 60.5 ± 8.9 years; 92.0% men; 96% treated for hypertension). Participants were asked to self-measure their BPs at five predetermined times as well as at any additional time points at their own discretion under ambulatory conditions for a maximum of 7 days. At the time of each BP measurement, participants self-reported their location, emotion, and degree of stress. A total of 1220 BP readings with self-reported situational information were obtained from 50 participants over 5.5 ± 1.2 days. Systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) measured during moments of self-reported negative emotions (i.e., anger, tension, anxiety, or sadness) were significantly higher (5.0 ± 1.3 and 2.0 ± 0.8 mmHg, both p < 0.05) than those during moments of self-reported positive emotions (i.e., happiness or calm). SBP/DBP were significantly increased under a moderate or high degree of stress by [4.5 ± 1.1]/[2.5 ± 0.7] and [10.2 ± 3.0]/[4.7 ± 1.8] mmHg, respectively. As a result, it was estimated that SBP/DBP increased 15.2/8.5 mmHg in the presence of highly stressful negative emotions. In conclusion, self-measurement of BP monitoring with a wearable device for multiple days is a feasible method to detect daily stress-induced BP elevation in working adults.

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Acknowledgements

The HeartGuide device was supplied by Omron Healthcare Co., Ltd., which also provided funding for the study. However, the collection and analysis of data in this study were conducted entirely independently of Omron Healthcare Co., Ltd.

Funding

This study was financially supported by Omron Healthcare. However, Omron Healthcare had no role in the data collection or analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan

    Naoko Tomitani, Hiroshi Kanegae & Kazuomi Kario

  2. Genki Plaza Medical Center for Health Care, Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroshi Kanegae

Authors
  1. Naoko Tomitani
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  2. Hiroshi Kanegae
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  3. Kazuomi Kario
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Correspondence to Kazuomi Kario.

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Conflict of interest

KK has received research grants from Omron Healthcare, A&D, and Fukuda Denshi. NT was the recipient of a JSPS KAKENHI grant (no. 20K17127).

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Tomitani, N., Kanegae, H. & Kario, K. Self-monitoring of psychological stress-induced blood pressure in daily life using a wearable watch-type oscillometric device in working individuals with hypertension. Hypertens Res 45, 1531–1537 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-00946-9

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