REPRODUCIBILITY OF AMBULATORY BLOOD-PRESSURE MONITORING RESULTS IN PREGNANCY

Blood pressure (BP) differences between two consecutive 24-h monitorin g periods (P1, P2) were analyzed in 159 hospitalized pregnant women. R eproducibility index, or twice the standard deviation of differences b etween individual systolic and diastolic means, was better for 24-h (7 .8 and 5.8) and daytime (8.7 and 6.3) than for nighttime (12.2 and 9.7 ) BP means. It did not depend on BP level or gestation week. Alert rea ction to monitoring procedure increased BP only in the first 2 h of P1 . The high overall reproducibility of ambulatory BP in pregnancy suppo rts the expanding use of the technique also in this condition. Am J Hy pertens 1998;11:852-855 (C) 1998 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd .