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Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

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Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

  • Definitions
  1. Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring
    1. Automated 24-48 hour Blood Pressure recording
    2. Analogous to a Holter Monitor for Blood Pressure
  • Indications
  1. Newly diagnosed Hypertension (especially borderline)
  2. White-coat Hypertension
  3. Drug-Resistant Hypertension
  4. Pregnancy-induced Hypertension
  5. Evaluation of Antihypertensive efficacy
  6. Episodes of symptomatic Hypertension
  7. Autonomic Neuropathy
  8. Orthostatic Hypotension
  9. Identify increased or decreased Blood Pressure patterns (e.g. high in morning, compared with evening)
  • Cost
  1. Initial equipment investment: $5000
  2. Patient cost: $100 to $300
  • Precautions
  1. Overnight readings are often inaccurate or absent from recording
    1. Most patients do not tolerate interrupted sleep by cuff inflation