DEAR DR. GOTT: My doctor has indicated that he wants a 24-hour blood-pressure reading on me. I just returned from my ophthalmologist’s office for a routine visit and asked him about this. I am uninformed but was surprised a specialist would not have heard of it, either. Can you fill in the blanks?
DEAR READER: The use of ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring (ABPM) for 24 hours has gained greater acceptance for several reasons. A situation known as white-coat hypertension occurs in up to 32 percent of patients, and this particular testing unit can monitor the condition. It can also delineate circadian variations in readings and pick up on drug-induced orthostatic hypotension and episodic primary hypertension. [Read more...]