New Emphasis on Ambulatory and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that we confirm hypertension with BP measurements outside the office.

In an update of a previously published guideline, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has reaffirmed its recommendation that adults should be screened for high blood pressure (BP; NEJM JW Gen Med Jan 8 2008; [e-pub] and Ann Intern Med 2007; 147:783). That's not particularly newsworthy, but the new statement has an important addition: It recommends that we measure BP outside the clinical setting to confirm the diagnosis before starting treatment. The authors prefer ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), in which the patient wears a device that typically records BP every 30 minutes for 24 hours. When ABPM is not available, home BP measurements taken with a standard home BP unit are an acceptable alternative.

The authors review the liter…

Reviewing Author

Allan S. Brett, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Allan S. Brett, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

New Emphasis on Ambulatory and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

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Reviewing Author