Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: a new window to decision-making in hypertension

Abstract

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is more physiologically valid and more reliable than office or clinic blood pressure measurement, since it provides a realtime quantitative record of the 24-h diurnal blood pressure cycle rather than a random snapshot. Its chief clinical value is the provision of accurate baselines and in making possible the individualization of patient care. It can correctly characterize episodic elevations of blood pressure and detect true as opposed to borderline hypertension. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring may be a better predictor of target-organ damage than office blood pressure measurements.