AUTOMATED BLOOD-PRESSURE MONITORING - SHOULD IT BE USED ROUTINELY IN MANAGING HYPERTENSION

Twenty-four-hour automated blood pressure measurements are representat ive of and more reliable than casual office blood pressure measurement s; they also are more closely correlated with evidence of target-organ damage caused by hypertension and may have better diagnostic specific ity. Nevertheless, broad use of automated monitoring in the routine ev aluation and management of hypertension has been discouraged because o f the lack of prospective epidemiologic studies automated measurements to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, the inability to define a normal range for such measurements, and the cost of the monitoring. Ho wever, if it is accepted that conventions established for casual offic e blood pressure measurements are applicable to data obtained by autom ated methods, then routine use of automated monitoring is justified, s ince automated monitoring has better diagnostic capabilities that offs et much of its cost.