Practical Suitability of a Stand-Alone Oscillometric Central Blood Pressure Monitor: A Review of the Microlife WatchBP Office Central

Willem J Verberk*, Hao-Min Cheng, Li-Chih Huang, Chia-Ming Lin, Yao-Pin Teng, Chen-Huan Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademic

    Abstract

    Accumulating evidence indicates that central blood pressure (CBP) is a better cardiovascular risk predictor than brachial blood pressure (BP). Although more additional benefits of CBP-based treatment above usual hypertension treatment are to be demonstrated, the demand for implementing CBP assessment in general clinical practice is increasing. For this, the measurement procedure must be noninvasive, easy to perform, and cost- and time-efficient. Therefore, oscillometric devices with the possibility to assess CBP seem the best option. Recently, such an oscillometric BP monitor, the Microlife WatchBP Office Central, was developed, which demonstrated its high accuracy in a validation study against invasive BP measurement. Calibration errors of this device are limited because the procedure is automated, standardized, and performed at the same place of and within 30 s from pulse wave assessment. The transformation from the peripheral pulse wave to CBP is done by means of an individual-based pulse wave analysis according to a theory of arterial compliance and wave reflections. In addition, the device has demonstrated to enable a more reliable diagnosis of hypertension by CBP than by peripheral BP, with a lower frequency of over- and underdiagnosis. Altogether, the available clinical evidence suggests that the Microlife WatchBP Office Central fulfills the criteria for general clinical use.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)205-16
    Number of pages188
    JournalPulse
    Volume3
    Issue number3-4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 12 Feb 2016

    Keywords

    • Blood pressure
    • Central pulse pressure
    • Hypertension
    • Oscillometric signals
    • Pressure wave reflection
    • Pulse volume plethysmography
    • Pulse wave analysis

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