Given the increasing use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in both clinical practice and hypertension research, a group of scientists, participating in the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular variability, in year 2013 published a comprehensive position paper dealing with all aspects of the technique, based on the available scientific evidence for ABPM. The present work represents an updated schematic summary of the most important aspects related to the use of ABPM in daily practice, and is aimed at providing recommendations for proper use of this technique in a clinical setting by both specialists and practicing physicians. The present article details the requirements and the methodological issues to be addressed for using ABPM in clinical practice, The clinical indications for ABPM suggested by the available studies, among which white-coat phenomena, masked hypertension, and nocturnal hypertension, are outlined in detail, and the place of home measurement of blood pressure in relation to ABPM is discussed. The role of ABPM in pharmacological, epidemiological, and clinical research is also briefly mentioned. Finally, the implementation of ABPM in practice is considered in relation to the situation of different countries with regard to the reimbursement and the availability of ABPM in primary care practices, hospital clinics, and pharmacies.
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text
aAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
bAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
cAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
dAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
eAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
fAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
gAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
hAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
iAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
jAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
kAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
lAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
mAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
nAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
oAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
pAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
qAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
rAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
sAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
tAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
uAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
vAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
wAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
xAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
yAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
zAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
aaAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
abAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
acAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
adAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
aeAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
afAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
agAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
ahAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
aiAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
ajAuthor affiliations are listed on the Journal website, http://links.lww.com/HJH/A366
*Gianfranco Parati, George Stergiou and Eoin O’Brien contributed equally to the writing of this article.
Correspondence to Gianfranco Parati, MD, Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Sciences, IRCCS S. Luca Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano. Piazza Brescia 20, Milan 20149, Italy. Tel: +3902619112949; fax: +3902619112956; e-mail: gianfranco.parati@unimib.it
Abbreviations: AASI, ambulatory arterial stiffness index; ABP, ambulatory blood pressure; ABPM, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring; BP, blood pressure; BPM, blood pressure monitoring; ESC, European Society of Cardiology; ESH, European Society of Hypertension; HBPM, home blood pressure monitoring; NICE, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; OBPM, office blood pressure measurement
Received 21 March, 2014
Revised 21 March, 2014
Accepted 21 March, 2014
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Website (http://www.jhypertension.com).
