More and more people are turning to technology and the uncontrolled source of "information" on the internet to learn about health issues and make use of new technologies to monitor it in real time.
An example that is constantly gaining ground as an application on “smart” mobile phones is the one that monitors your blood pressure and immediately notifies your doctor if it registers hypertension in your body. On the same wavelength are the videos on YouTube, which suggest “solutions” for hypertension and provide various information on this major global health issue.
According to the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, a study found that more than a third of YouTube videos about hypertension contain false information about the condition. It is also particularly concerning that videos that misinform the user are much more popular than those that come from trusted medical sources, such as the American Hypertension Association.
Often, these videos, which misinform the public, focus on supplements or other treatments that are not proven to lower blood pressure, such as L-arginine, garlic, and coenzyme Q10 supplements.
In a second study, on two devices that connect to “smart” mobile phones (smartphones) and monitor in real time the blood pressure of the user of specific mobile applications, it was found that the measurements they record are often incorrect. In a number of 112 measurements, it was found that one application gave results 3 to 5 points higher than those measured on site by doctors with the appropriate machines, and the other gave results 5 points lower than the correct measurements.
Source: onmed.gr
