CareMedic — Home Page
Schedule an Appointment
CareMedic — Home Page

24-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM)

WHAT IS IT?

24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is used to assess a person’s blood pressure. In our country, the term “Holter blood pressure monitoring” has become widely used, although it is not technically correct. ABPM allows a doctor to assess your blood pressure during a typical day. The information collected enables for a better assessment and management of hypertension
At the clinics CarE MediC , ABPM can be performed and evaluated by the cardiovascular department.

WHEN IS IT USED?

ABPM is very useful for determining whether a person actually has hypertension when blood pressure readings taken in the doctor’s office are very high or fluctuate widely. Specifically, ABPM has been used to evaluate individuals with“white-coat hypertension,”which is caused by the stress a person experiences in the doctor’s office.

HOW IT WORKS

Blood pressure monitoring is performed using a special device consisting of a cuff that is placed on the arm and attached to a small recording device that hangs from a special harnessor on your belt. The ABPM device records blood pressure periodically over a 24-hour period (usually at 20-minute intervals during the day and 30-minute intervals at night), during a person’s daily activities as well as during sleep.

ARVM ESTIMATE

The information provided by ABPM is fundamentally different from the information a cardiologist obtains from blood pressure measurements taken in the doctor’s office. A blood pressure reading is intended to reflect blood pressure at rest (which explains why the readings may not be entirely accurate, given the stressful environment of most doctors’ offices).

ABPM, on the other hand, records blood pressure as it is measured across a wide range of situations and activities. It is normal for a person’s blood pressure to fluctuate significantly due to the many activities one typically performs throughout the day. Thus, unlike clinic blood pressure, ABPM does not report just a single value for systolic and diastolic blood pressure that is supposed to represent the official “blood pressure.” Instead, a whole series of (often) widely varying readings is recorded throughout the day and night.

Your thoughts are valuable. Whether it’s a simple question, a suggestion, a point, or an observation, please feel free to share your thoughts using the contact form provided.
CONTACT

Advantages of ABRM

According to the 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines, the advantages of ABPM are:

• It can identify“white-coat hypertension”(white coat hypertension) and masked hypertension
• Provides stronger prognostic data
• Nighttime measurements
• Measurement under real-life (routine) conditions
• Information from a single session of multiple measurements (including short-term blood pressure variability)

INDICATIONS

ABPM has helped in the evaluation of individuals with “white-coat hypertension,” allowing their doctors to determine whether the elevated blood pressure readings reflect their actual condition.
ABPM is also useful in situations where it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of a treatment regimen or when there is suspicion that a person is experiencing unusually large fluctuations in blood pressure that complicate the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. ABPM can also aid in the diagnosis and treatment of certain forms of autonomic dysfunction, especially when there is suspicion of intermittent and unpredictable episodes of very low blood pressure.

According to the 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines, the indications for ABPM are:

  1. Conditions in which white-coat hypertension is more common:
    • Stage I hypertension based on clinic blood pressure measurements
    • Elevated readings during clinic visits without a corresponding increase in home blood pressure readings

  2. Conditions in which masked hypertension is more common:
    • Clinic readings at the upper limits of normal
    • Normal clinic readings in individuals with abnormal home readings or in those at high overall risk (SCORE) for cardiovascular disease

  3. Orthostatic and postprandial hypotension in patients with or without hypertension treatment

  4. Assessment of Persistent Hypertension

  5. Assessment of blood pressure control, particularly in high-risk patients who received treatment

  6. Excessive blood pressure response to exercise (during the exercise stress test)

  7. When there is significant variability in blood pressure readings at the doctor’s office.

  8. Assessment of Symptoms and Hypotension-Related Events During Treatment for Hypertension

SPECIAL INDICATIONS

Specific indications for ABPM rather than home blood pressure monitoring:
Evaluation of nocturnal blood pressure readings (e.g., suspected nocturnal hypertension in conditions such as: sleep apnea syndrome, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, endocrine-related hypertension, or autonomic dysfunction)