A new statement coming from three heart groups recommends hypertensive people monitor their blood pressure at home more regularly for a better disease management.

The joint statement from the American Heart Association, American Society of Hypertension and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses’ Association, published online Thursday in the journal Hypertension, writes that high blood pressure is very difficult to treat as many patients fail to reach target levels despite treatment.

Therefore, “blood pressure measurement and tracking could be improved with home monitoring by the patients themselves, in much the way people with diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels with home glucose monitors,” Dr. Thomas G. Pickering, chair of the group that wrote the statement wrote.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways. More exactly, hypertension is a pressure reading greater than 140 over 90. Pre-hypertension is a reading higher than 120/80, the desired level, but just below 140/90.

According to recent estimates, about one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people are unaware they have it. The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to have your pressure checked.

Therefore, the statement recommends patients purchase a blood pressure monitor (they usually cost between $50 and $100 on the Internet and at pharmacies) with cuffs that fit on the upper arm and check their blood pressure by taking two or three readings at a time, one minute apart. Patients should be resting in a seated position while having their blood pressure taken with the upper arm at heart level and feet on the floor.

Also, readings should be taken at the same time every day, as recommended by a health-care provider.

The statement’s authors believe that patients actively involved in monitoring their disease’s progress, are more likely to be vigilant in taking their medications and improving their lifestyles, by eating food with less salt, exercising more, losing weight and limiting the amount of alcohol.

According to the panel that issued the statement, the elderly, pregnant women, diabetics and people with kidney disease should be the first to purchase a blood pressure monitor, as they are the most exposed to the disease.