Number of Measurements Needed to Obtain a Reliable Estimate of Home Blood Pressure: Results From the Improving the Detection of Hypertension Study

BACKGROUND: Obtaining out‐of‐clinic blood pressure (BP) measurements to confirm a diagnosis of hypertension is recommended before initiating treatment. There are few empiric data available on the number of measurements required to reliably estimate BP on home BP monitoring (HBPM). METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed data from 316 community‐dwelling adults not taking antihypertensive medication from the IDH (Improving the Detection of Hypertension) study who performed HBPM for 14 days. The reliability of home BP measurements was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and as the percentage of participants with an absolute difference in home BP <10 mm Hg between weeks. The reliability of home hypertension status was assessed by the κ statistic. In the IDH study, 13.6% of participants had clinic hypertension and 18.0% had home hypertension. Mean home systolic and diastolic BP exhibited excellent reliability and sufficient agreement using the average of 2 morning and 2 evening BP readings for a minimum of 2 days of HBPM and a single morning and single evening or 2 morning BP readings for a minimum of 3 days. For diagnosing home hypertension, there was good agreement with a minimum of 3 days of HBPM using the average of 2 morning and 2 evening measurements or a single morning and single evening BP reading. A greater number of days was required for the other HBPM strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Using the average of morning and evening readings, 3 days of HBPM are needed to reliably estimate mean home BP and diagnose out‐of‐clinic hypertension.