Ambulatory Blood-Pressure Monitoring in Clinical Practice

Abstract

Ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring provides automated measurements of brachial-artery pressure over a 24-hour period while patients are engaging in their usual activities. This method has been used for more than 30 years in clinical research on hypertension. Initially, it was performed in cardiovascular research units with the use of direct intraarterial recordings during physical activity, work, rest, and sleep. These studies demonstrated that blood pressure has a highly reproducible circadian profile, with higher values when the patient is awake and mentally and physically active, much lower values during rest and sleep, and an early-morning surge lasting three to five hours during . . .