Hypertension diagnosis in obstructive sleep apnea: Self or 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring?

摘要

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an admitted but under diagnosed cause of hypertension [1,2]. In apneic patients, hypertension is mainly nocturnal and associated with a non-dipping pattern [2], Using 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM), masked hypertension (normal clinic but elevated ambulatory BP) is found in 30% of OSA patients with no previous history of hypertension [3]. ABPM is an accurate method for identifying hypertension in OSA, but such an investigation is selectively used. Self-measured home BP monitoring (SBPM) is proposed as an alternative diagnostic tool in the general population [1].