The ABPM effect: the importance of its assessment in clinical practice

A 61-year-old woman with a 12-year history of hypertension, that was well controlled with medication, came for a medical examination. She presented no evidence of target organ damage or associated clinical disease and, given the good pharmacological control of her blood pressure with a single drug,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPA AP no. 42; p. 22
Main Authors V. Pereira Vieitez, Pereira, C Gabián, M. Domínguez Sardiña
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Barcelona Ediciones Mayo 01.09.2005
Subjects
Clinical trials
Hypertension
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Summary:A 61-year-old woman with a 12-year history of hypertension, that was well controlled with medication, came for a medical examination. She presented no evidence of target organ damage or associated clinical disease and, given the good pharmacological control of her blood pressure with a single drug, it was decided to interrupt the antihypertensive medication and perform 48-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). The mean diurnal blood pressure was 143/87 mmHg and the nocturnal mean was 124/72 mmHg. No pharmacological intervention was carried out and the patient maintained the same hygiene and dietary measures. Three months later, ABPM was repeated and the mean diurnal and nocturnal blood pressures were 133/85 mmHg and 123/69 mmHg, respectively. The comparison of the two ABPM recordings showed that the difference in the pressures during the period of activity was due mainly to the marked differences between the fi rst and second 24 hours of the fi rst ABPM in terms of both the arterial pressure values and the nocturnal dip. This difference disappears almost completely in the second ABPM. This fact has been reported in the literature and is referred to as the ABPM effect.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1139-1596