Cuffless blood pressure monitoring
Many devices that measure blood pressure without an inflating cuff are on sale, and they claim to be accurate. A European hypertension expert group says they could change how high blood pressure is diagnosed and managed, but that questions about their accuracy must be answered first. Its 2022 statement says recent European Society of Hypertension guidelines do not recommend them for diagnosis or management, and its 2023 statement sets out six tests for checking them. The British and Irish Hypertension Society says that, until it has a way to validate wearables, none can receive its endorsement or approval. This page records that position. It does not say that any such device is accurate.
Also called Cuffless wearable blood pressure devices
- Idea
- In this atlas
Overview
Technical summary
Hypothesis page with maturity set to early feasibility. The two European Society of Hypertension Working Group statements (2022 and 2023) were read as abstracts only, and neither names a patient population. The 2022 abstract calls cuffless monitors "a wide and heterogeneous group of novel technologies and devices with different intended uses". Some need individual cuff calibration, which the 2023 tests address through a recalibration test. The British and Irish Hypertension Society page says it has no formal validation process for wearables and that, until it has one, no wearable blood pressure device can receive its endorsement or approval. Newer studies of cuffless devices since 2023 were not read.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis, not a result. Nothing here has been demonstrated.
Cuffless blood pressure devices could support the diagnosis and management of high blood pressure once a validation standard shows that they are accurate.
- Maturity
- Early feasibility
- Rationale
- The European Society of Hypertension Working Group says these devices have "considerable potential to improve the awareness, treatment, and management of hypertension" and "considerable potential for changing the diagnosis and management of hypertension".
- Proposed test
- The 2023 European Society of Hypertension recommendations define six validation tests for intermittent cuffless devices: static, device position, treatment, awake and asleep, exercise and recalibration. Not every test is required for every device. A device would first need to pass the tests that apply to it.
Objections
- The 2022 statement says the established validation protocols for cuff devices are inadequate for cuffless devices.
- The 2022 statement says fundamental questions about accuracy, performance and implementation must be addressed before these devices can be recommended for clinical use.
- The 2023 statement says there were no generally accepted validation protocols for them at that time.
- The British and Irish Hypertension Society says that, until it has a way to validate wearables, none can receive its endorsement or approval.
Claims and evidence
Context People the European Society of Hypertension cuffless-device statements address (population not stated)
- Recipient
- Recipient not specified
- Population
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts. Neither abstract names a patient population.
- Care setting
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Geography
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Life stage
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Gestational age
- Not reported
- Postnatal age
- Not reported
- Follow-up
- Not applicable (expert statements)
Eligibility: inclusion criteria not stated; exclusion criteria not stated
- Included
- None stated
- Excluded
- None stated
A 2022 statement by the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability says that "recent guidelines by the European Society of Hypertension do not recommend cuffless devices for the diagnosis and management of hypertension". It says the established validation protocols for cuff devices are inadequate for cuffless ones. It also says cuffless devices have "considerable potential for changing the diagnosis and management of hypertension", but that "fundamental questions regarding their accuracy, performance, and implementation need to be carefully addressed before they can be recommended for clinical use".
Applies to Recipient not specified- Not stated in the fetched abstracts. Neither abstract names a patient population.
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Gestational age Not reported
- Postnatal age Not reported
- Certainty method
- Not assessed
- Limitations
- Abstract only: the full text was not fetched. The abstract names no patient population, so the population is not stated here. The abstract attributes the do-not-recommend position to recent guidelines and does not name the edition. This is a working group statement that reports that position. It is not a guideline recommendation row, and it was published in 2022. Newer cuffless devices and studies since then were not checked. A statement that devices are not recommended is not a finding that any particular device is inaccurate.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-11
- Next evidence check due
- Not scheduled
Sources and citations (7)
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 3
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2022 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 6
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2022 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, second-to-last sentence
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2022 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, last sentence
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2022 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 1
- How it applies
- Says many such devices are on the market and claim to be accurate.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 2
- How it applies
- States the potential the working group sees.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 5
- How it applies
- Says cuffless devices are a heterogeneous group with different intended uses.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
5f41ba0b9a4076a07957b9067820ced46a53be429c2c9ee09d59107c8e4f7536- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
A 2023 statement by the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability recommends six validation tests for intermittent cuffless blood pressure devices, which take readings at intervals longer than 30 seconds, usually every 30 to 60 minutes, or when the user starts a reading. The tests are static, device position, treatment, awake and asleep, exercise and recalibration. Not every test is required for every device. The statement says that, to date, there were no generally accepted validation protocols for these devices.
Applies to Recipient not specified- Not stated in the fetched abstracts. Neither abstract names a patient population.
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Not stated in the fetched abstracts
- Gestational age Not reported
- Postnatal age Not reported
- Certainty method
- Not assessed
- Limitations
- Abstract only: the full text was not fetched, so the pass criteria, sample sizes and which test applies to which device are not described here. The abstract names no patient population, so the population is not stated here. It covers intermittent cuffless devices only. The statement proposes how to validate devices. It is not a finding that any device has passed. Work after December 2023 was not checked.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-11
- Next evidence check due
- Not scheduled
Sources and citations (6)
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 5, first part
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2023 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
0650ccca93af714940e8113b3609a54f02afabd9ecf98ab8970d83ebf23e3f8a- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 5, second part
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2023 statement. First three tests.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
0650ccca93af714940e8113b3609a54f02afabd9ecf98ab8970d83ebf23e3f8a- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 5, last part
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2023 statement. Last three tests.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
0650ccca93af714940e8113b3609a54f02afabd9ecf98ab8970d83ebf23e3f8a- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 6
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2023 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
0650ccca93af714940e8113b3609a54f02afabd9ecf98ab8970d83ebf23e3f8a- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 3
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract of the 2023 statement.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
0650ccca93af714940e8113b3609a54f02afabd9ecf98ab8970d83ebf23e3f8a- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
-
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 4, definition of intermittent
- How it applies
- Defines which cuffless devices the tests are for.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
0650ccca93af714940e8113b3609a54f02afabd9ecf98ab8970d83ebf23e3f8a- Reuse basis
- The abstract carries a publisher copyright line, so only short quotations with attribution are used and only the sha256 of the PubMed record is kept. No file is committed.
Record details
- Record id
cardio:idea-cuffless-bp-monitoring- Content hash
82b83f229e307323fcc13abaa089e5bc9b68b736d0a98e589e37a0be69d6f87f