Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring
What is 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring?
Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) measures your blood pressure over the course of a full day (24 hours). You will wear a blood pressure cuff on your upper arm that is connected to a monitor.
The blood pressure cuff will inflate at regular intervals throughout the next 24 hours, every half hour during the day and hourly during the night (11pm – 7 am).
The Blood Pressure Monitor The monitor is a small box that connects to the cuff on your arm. The monitor remains in a black pouch throughout the day. You may wear it with a belt to keep it up on your side and out of the way. During the measurement, the monitor screen will be black and will not display any blood pressure readings.
Indications for 24 hour blood pressure monitor:
- White coat hypertension: high blood pressure in clinic settings (around medical staff or doctors) with lower blood pressure outside of clinic.
- High blood pressure without a diagnosis of hypertension: blood pressure may be high sometimes and more blood pressure measurements are needed.
- Hypertension medicine assessment: to make sure your blood pressure medicines are working as they should all day.
- Assess symptoms – such as lightheadedness, dizziness, or headaches, to check if these are due to blood pressure.
Results:
Upon return the monitor next day to the clinic the clinician will then download the results from the monitor and a final report will be sent to your doctor who ordered the test.
