Why the study?
Masked hypertension and masked uncontrolled hypertension are associated with metabolic alterations, organ damage, and elevated cardiovascular risk, warranting a review of current evidence and therapeutic implications.
Masked hypertension and masked uncontrolled hypertension carry significant cardiovascular risk comparable to or greater than sustained hypertension, highlighting the importance of out-of-office blood pressure monitoring.
Refines MH/MUCH nomenclature by treatment status; leaves open whether this distinction refines risk prediction or management.
An increasing attention has been devoted in the last two decades to masked hypertension (MH), a condition characterized by the fact that classification of a normal blood pressure (BP) status by office measurements is not confirmed by home and/or ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM). MH definition (i.e., normal office BP, but high out-of-office BP) should be restricted to untreated subjects (true MH) whereas masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH) reserved to treated patients previously classified as hypertensives, presenting normal office BP and high ABPM or home values. Both MH and MUCH are associated with metabolic alterations, comorbidities, and hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD). Furthermore, the risk of cardiovascular events related to these conditions has been shown to be close or greater than that of sustained hypertension. This review discusses available evidence about MH and MUCH by focusing on its prevalence, clinical correlates, association with HMOD, prognostic significance, and their therapeutic implications.
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Cuspidi et al. (2018) studied this question.
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