ARTERIAL-HYPERTENSION IN THE ADOLESCENT - CONVENTIONAL CLINIC MEASUREMENT (CCM) VERSUS CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF AMBULATORY BLOOD-PRESSURE DATA (CMABP)

Blood pressure (BP) measurements obtained in hospital may be raised by reaction of the patient to the doctor or nurse who may make an unjust ified diagnosis of hypertension (<<white coat hypertension>>). The pur pose of this study was to find the difference between BP levels record ed, and the percentage of patients judged hypertensive, when BP in ado lescents was recorded randomly in the clinic (CCM) and by continuous b lood pressure monitoring (CMABP). We studied in our hypertension unit 21 adolescents (20 male, 1 female mean age 16.5 years, range 16-18) wh o had been considered hypertensive in an epidemiological study of 4 1 0 pupils in a school in our city. Systolic and diastolic BP were signi ficantly lower when measured by CMABP (141.7 +/- 11 vs 130 +/- 9; 78 /- 11 vs 74 +/- 11). Only a third of those judged hypertensive on CMC were confirmed hypertensive on CMABP. CMABP records blood pressure sig nificantly lower than that found on random testing and is necessary fo r the confirmation of hypertension in adolescents.