Abstract
In healthy subjects, blood pressure levels are 10-20% lower at night than in the day. This condition is called dipper change. The 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring allows detection of abnormal circadian blood pressure patterns, such as morning blood pressure surge and non-dipper change in patients with normal clinic blood pressure. Morning blood pressure surge is associated with an increased risk for hypertensive target organ damage, and with higher cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We previously reported that repeated episodes of end-apneic arousal or hypoxia and consequent sleep fragmentation were associated with an elevation in nocturnal blood pressure, possibly leading to sustained hypertension and LV hypertrophy. However, the relationship between sleep quality and blood pressure changes during sleep has not been well described. This presentation will review a novel methodology for monitoring of nighttime blood pressure.
