Nocturnal blood pressure and cardiovascular disease: a review of recent advances

Nocturnal blood pressure and cardiovascular disease: a review of recent advances

Por: Yuichiro Yano y Kazuomi Kario. Hypertension Research (2012) 35, 695–701.

The accurate measurement, prediction and treatment of high blood pressure (BP) are essential issues in the management of hypertension. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has been shown to be superior
to clinic BP measurements as ABPM can provide the following important information: (i) the mean BP levels, (ii) the diurnal variation in BP and (iii) the short-term BP variability. Among these parameters, there is increasing evidence that the mean nocturnal BP level is the most sensitive predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, several studies have shown that less nocturnal BP dipping, defined as less nocturnal BP decline relative to daytime BP, or a high night–day BP ratio was associated with poor prognosis irrespective of the 24-hour BP levels.