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Review
. 2022 Oct;79(10):2148-2158.
doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19414. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Digital Therapeutics in Hypertension: Evidence and Perspectives

Kazuomi Kario  1 , Noriko Harada  1 , Ayako Okura  1
Affiliations
Review

Digital Therapeutics in Hypertension: Evidence and Perspectives

Kazuomi Kario et al. Hypertension. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Digital therapeutics refers to the use of evidence-based therapeutic interventions driven by high-quality software programs to treat, manage, or prevent a medical condition. This approach is being increasingly investigated for the management of hypertension, a common condition that is the leading preventable cardiovascular disease risk factor worldwide. Digital interventions can help facilitate uptake of important guideline-recommended lifestyle modifications, reinforce home blood pressure monitoring, decrease therapeutic inertia, and improve medication adherence. However, current studies are only of moderate quality, and are highly heterogeneous in the interventions evaluated, comparator used, and results obtained. Therefore, additional studies are needed, focusing on the development of universally applicable and consistent digital therapeutic strategies designed with health care professional input and evaluation of these interventions in robust clinical trials with objective end points. Hopefully, the momentum for digital therapeutics triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic can be utilized to maximize advancements in this field and drive widespread implementation.

Keywords: blood pressure; cardiovascular diseases; digital technology; hypertension; mobile applications.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Key definitions and keywords. DTx indicates digital therapeutics; and ICT, information and communications technology.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Components of a theoretical digital therapeutics platform for hypertension: interactive approach for optimized personalized intervention. BP, blood pressure.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Digital therapeutics process for hypertension (lifestyle modifications based on personalized analysis). BP indicates blood pressure.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Potential mechanisms contributing to the blood pressure (BP)–lowering effects of digital therapeutic interventions for hypertension, including lifestyle modifications (blue boxes), BP monitoring (purple box), and optimization of pharmacological therapy (black boxes). DTx indicates digital therapeutics.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Digital therapeutics as one component of patient-centered hypertension management.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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