Usefulness of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for clinical decisions making

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is a useful diagnostic and therapeutic tool in hypertensive patients. ABMP is a technique in which multiple blood pressure (BP) measurements are taken over a 24-48-hour period, providing a continuous BP record during the patient's normal daily activities. By more reliably measuring BP. ABPM has been shown to be a better predictor of end-organ damage and cardiovascular outcome than BP measured in the clinic setting. The use of ABPM enables a more accurate assessment and an improved management of hypertensive patients. Moreover, ABPM is more closely related to treatment-induced changes in BP, so that treatment can be optimized more efficiently and more patients can achieve BP targets with appropriate therapy. Therefore, information provided by ABMP may be very useful for clinical decision making. The present article offers an updated and comprehensive view of the prognostic value of ABMP and the potential interest of this technique for treatment decision making. (C) 2009 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.