Ambulatory blood pressure recordings. Reproducibility and unpredictability.

Abstract

The accuracy of blood pressure readings taken by the portable semiautomatic blood pressure recorder Remler M 2000 was investigated in 101 unselected, untreated volunteers. On the average, pressures recorded during usual daily activities were lower by approximately 10 mm Hg than pressures measured in the office. However, individual ambulatory pressures could not be predicted from office readings, and the difference varied among the volunteers from +14 to -43 mm Hg. The reproducibility of office and ambulatory pressures was investigated in 84 subjects. There was a highly significant correlation between pressure levels determined at a 3- to 4-month interval with both the conventional auscultatory method in the office and the Remler ambulatory recorder. These data demonstrate that the Remler M 2000 ambulatory blood pressure recorder, when used properly, provides reproducible blood pressure profiles during customary daily activities. The ambulatory pressure recorder seems particularly useful for a baseline evaluation of the usual daily blood pressure, which in the individual subject differs in a highly unpredictable manner from the blood pressure measured at the physician's office.