Comparison of common reasons for obtaining ABPM and SMBP recordings

Reason	ABPM	SMBP	Comment
Diagnosing hypertension	√	√	More data support ABPM as the reference standard for this indication
Evaluation of white coat hypertension or effect	√	√	Refer to UpToDate topics on white coat and masked hypertension
Evaluation of masked hypertension or masked uncontrolled hypertension	√	√	Refer to UpToDate topics on white coat and masked hypertension
Confirm elevated office BP in treated patients	√	√	To verify true treatment resistance
Correlate symptoms with BP	√	√	Dizziness and fatigue may be related to BP changes from medications ABPM may be more useful, particularly among older adults at risk for falls Surges in BP may reflect underlying neuroendocrine disorders (eg, pheochromocytoma)
Evaluate BP variability, particularly when dysautonomia suspected	√	√	ABPM reflects short-term variability SMBP can determine longer-term variability over weeks and even months
Selection of patients for research studies	√	√	Choice of ABPM or SMBP dictated by protocol

ABPM: ambulatory blood pressure monitoring; SMBP: self-measured blood pressure; BP: blood pressure.

Courtesy of Raymond R Townsend, MD.

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