A SYSTEM that monitors blood pressure over a 24-hour period is being made more widely available to consumers in Ireland through a chain of pharmacies.
It’s estimated that about half of Irish adults over the age of 50 have high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
The wearable 24-hour monitoring system measures blood pressure at half-hourly intervals during a normal day. It offers a more clinically relevant picture than the conventional one-off reading, which can miss important patterns in night-time and morning changes, according to Bill Rickard, managing director of Dublin-based company dabl, which develops software to analyse the data.
Already in use in some GP clinics, hospitals and individual pharmacy outlets in Ireland, Mr Rickard said the idea was now to bring the system more into the community, and last week Irish-owned group McCabes Pharmacy announced it would offer the service.
“The system gives an immediate report once the 24-hour data is uploaded and that report is given to the patient,” said Mr Rickard. “If there’s an issue they are advised to make an appointment with a doctor, and if not then they just bring the results with them the next time they are going to their doctor.”
Pharmacy customers in Ireland can expect to pay about €90 for the consultations, fitting and report.
Dabl has already rolled out the blood pressure diagnostic service in pharmacies in Italy, where Mr Rickard said they have seen “huge successes”.
