Ambulatory Blood Pressure Methodology and Norms in Children

Casual blood pressure (BP) measurement is the basis of present knowledge about the risks associated with hypertension (1) and has guided patient management for many years (2). Nevertheless, casual BP is characterized by high variability, and the small number of measurements obtained in medical settings may not necessarily reflect the usual BP of an individual (3). The possibility of carrying out repeated measurements with ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) using invasive (4) or noninvasive devices (5) provides more representative values of BP, and permits the observation of the behavior of BP during activity and sleep.