Evaluating different criteria for defining a complete ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recording

OBJECTIVE: We determined differences in the prevalence of blood pressure (BP) phenotypes and the association of these phenotypes with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) for individuals who fulfilled and did not fulfill various criteria used for defining a complete ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) recording. METHODS: We analyzed data for 1141 participants from the Jackson Heart Study. Criteria evaluated included having greater than or equal to 80% of planned readings with more than or equal to one reading per hour (Spanish ABPM Registry criteria), more than or equal to 70% of planned readings with a minimum of 20 daytime and seven nighttime readings (2013 European Society of Hypertension criteria), greater than or equal to 14 daytime and greater than or equal to seven nighttime readings (2003 European Society of Hypertension criteria), more than or equal to 10 daytime and more than or equal to 5 nighttime readings (International Database of Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcome criteria), and greater than or equal to 14 daytime readings (UK National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence criteria). RESULTS: Between 45.0% (Spanish ABPM Registry) and 91.8% (UK National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence) of the participants fulfilled the different criteria for a complete ABPM recording. Across the various criteria evaluated, 55.5-57.8% of participants had nocturnal hypertension and 62.8-66.8% had nondipping systolic BP. Among participants with clinic-measured systolic/diastolic BP of more than or equal to 140/90 mmHg, 22.9-26.5% had white-coat hypertension. The prevalence of daytime, 24-h, sustained, and masked hypertension differed by up to 2% for participants fulfilling each criterion. The association of BP phenotypes with LVH was similar for participants who fulfilled versus those who did not fulfill different criteria (each P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Irrespective of the criteria used for defining a complete ABPM recording, the prevalence of BP phenotypes and their association with LVH were similar.