Why the study?
Does 24-h ambulatory and home blood pressure monitoring improve correlation with end-organ damage compared to office blood pressure in general practice patients?
Does 24-h ambulatory and home blood pressure monitoring improve correlation with end-organ damage compared to office blood pressure in general practice patients?
Home and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring are practical and yield high-quality data comparable to specialized units when used in everyday general practice, and correlate better with end-organ damage than office measurements.
Home and ambulatory BP may better reflect end-organ damage than office readings in general practice; prospective trials needed before changing practice.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in comparison with home and office blood pressure in every-day general practice. METHODS: In a multicenter survey sixty-two practitioners previously unfamiliar with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring performed a total of 1162 (mean 18 +/- 16; range 3-94) 24-h ambulatory- and home blood pressure measurements in normotensive subjects or patients with untreated or treated hypertension. RESULTS: In subjects with office blood pressure <140/90 mmHg average 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (Tenso 24 monitors) was 126/79 mmHg, home blood pressure (Tenso Plus semiautomatic sphygmomanometers) was 128/ 84 mmHg, and office blood pressure (standard sphygmomanometer) was 130/82 mmHg. Patients with office blood pressure > or = 140/90 mmHg had 24-h ambulatory blood pressure averaging 141/88 mmHg, home blood pressure 149/93 mmHg, and office blood pressure 157/95 mmHg. The difference between office-, home-, and ambulatory blood pressure increased with age. Expected differences were found between the three blood pressure modalities according to indication of examination (borderline -, "white-coat" -, and therapy refractory hypertension). Indices of hypertension related end-organ damage were positively correlated with home and ambulatory blood pressure but not with office blood pressure. Overall the performance of home- and ambulatory blood pressure in this general practice setting was similar to that seen by specialized blood pressure units. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the practical utility of home- and ambulatory blood pressure measurement in every-day general practice. Both methods are easy to introduce and the quality of blood pressure data obtained in every-day general practice are comparable to those obtained in hypertension clinics and trial centers.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Omvik et al. (2003) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: