August 08, 2025
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- A mobile health app helped lower blood pressure for those with hypertension, especially women.
- The app provides tailored CV health coaching for women before, during and after menopause.
A mobile health app may improve blood pressure control for people with hypertension, especially among women during and after menopause, researchers reported.
The results of a study evaluating sex- and age-related changes in BP among participants in a mobile health app program were published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
“There is a dearth of data on women and menopause, yet this is a time of heightened cardiovascular risk,” Jayne Morgan, MD, cardiologist and vice president of medical affairs at Hello Heart, told Healio. “As a cardiologist, this is particularly concerning. With such a rich database of mobile health users at Hello Heart, there is great opportunity to assess blood pressure indices during both perimenopause and menopause to further inform the absolute best approach to preventive cardiovascular care for this hugely underserved and ignored population.”
CV risk before, during, after menopause
In this retrospective observational analysis, the researchers evaluated changes in BP among participants enrolled in the Hello Heart program, which consisted of a mobile app (Hello Heart) and a Bluetooth-enabled BP monitor. The system is designed to provide CV health-related metrics tracking, medication tracking and AI-driven, evidence-based lifestyle coaching. Coaching recommendations also include tailored recommendations for menopausal women.
“Hypertension is one of the single greatest key drivers of cardiac events including heart attacks as well as strokes,” Morgan said in an interview. “During perimenopause, because of the loss of estrogen and its effects on the arteries, hypertension can begin to develop without the woman being aware because it is largely asymptomatic. This creates a risk for heart disease unless it is diagnosed and treated appropriately. Further, we know that more than 40% of Americans are unaware that they even have high blood pressure, and of those who are aware, only about 20% to 21% actually have their blood pressure controlled.”
Mobile health can ‘level the playing field in women’s health’
Overall, 48,121 participants with hypertension were included in the analysis (mean age, 52 years; 55% women).
At baseline, the average systolic BP was 135.5 mm Hg.
The researchers reported reductions in systolic BP pressure over time in the mobile health program (beta = –0.04; P < .001), with a noteworthy interaction between time and sex (beta = 0.01; P = .029) with larger reductions over time in women (beta = –0.18) compared with men (beta = –0.15).
Data from a general linear model showed higher baseline systolic BP in perimenopausal (beta = –0.19; P < .001) and postmenopausal women (beta = –0.15; P = .002) relative to premenopausal women compared with age-matched men participating in the program, according to the study.
Researchers noted hypertensive crises were more likely in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women (P for all < .05); however, no significant interaction with sex was observed when compared with age-matched men.
“I was less surprised and more impressed with the validation that engagement with mobile health devices is an opportunity to level the playing field in women’s health,” Morgan told Healio. “Indeed, AI may just be the tool to rapidly advance the science in women’s health, specifically the menopausal state and its inherent cardiovascular risks.”
There was no significant interaction between change in systolic BP over time and perimenopausal status (beta = 0.002; P = .421) or postmenopause status (beta = 0.003; P = .119) compared with premenopause status, according to the study.
The researchers also reported no significant interaction between time and menopause status for diastolic BP or hypertensive crisis outcomes.
“Gaps in care are centered on awareness, monitoring, treatment adherence, access and control. Mobile health devices help to improve detection and awareness, enhance medication adherence, promote consistent monitoring and enable real-time data sharing with physicians and other members of the health care team. Further, mobile health devices have been shown to increase patient engagement in their own health,” Morgan said. “Menopausal women are a vastly underserved population with many inherent health risks but little scientific rigor and study. We look forward to contributing more scientific publications to this area.”
For more information:
Jayne Morgan, MD, can be reached on LinkedIn @Jayne Morgan, M.D.