AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING (ABPM)

This investigation allows your doctors to measure your blood pressure many times per day.  Your blood pressure varies across the day and during different activities and with different levels of stress, so it is usually better to avoid making decisions based on a single measurement.  By making a number of measurements across 24 hours, this test allows your expert cardiologist to get a much better understanding of your blood pressure, and avoids making decisions on a single measurement.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM): What Is It?

The ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a test which involves wearing a small digital machine attached to the waistband or inside clothing for 24 hours.  It is connected to an inflatable cuff on the arm by a small thin tube.  The cuff inflates at regular intervals throughout the day and night and records the blood pressure.  You will notice the cuff inflating but it shouldn’t be painful. 

In What Cases Can Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) Be Used?

ABPM can be used when doctors want to decide

• Whether you have a diagnosis of hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Whether your blood pressure is high enough to require treatment
• Whether you need a change in blood pressure medication
• Whether you have white-coat hypertension (i.e. your blood pressure is higher when you visit the doctor than when you are going about your normal day)
• Whether a blood pressure tablet has been effective in reducing blood pressure
• Whether dizziness or other symptoms are related to related to high or low blood pressure, or another cause should be considered

How Does The Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor Work?

The ambulatory blood pressure monitor is designed to take readings of the blood pressure at regular intervals.  This is usually once every 30 minutes during the day and once every hour at night.  A small box attached to the waistband or inside clothes is connected by a small tube to an inflatable cuff around the arm.  When the blood pressure is taken, the cuff will inflate as would happen if your blood pressure was being checked in person when attending the clinic. 

To help your doctor interpret your blood pressure readings, we ask you to briefly record your activities at different times of the day, record which medications you have taken (as these may alter blood pressure).  We also ask you to record whether you had any symptoms such as dizziness so we can see if your symptoms are explained by your blood pressure.

After 24 hours the monitor is taken off and returned to the clinic so that the results can be downloaded analysed for your cardiologist to read and interpret.

Schedule An Appointment

Our cardiologists see many paitents with hypertension and are experts at investigating monitoring and treating high blood pressure.  If you think you need an ambulatory blood pressure monitor or have concerns that you may have hypertension or any other symptom related to your heart, our cardiologists are available for consultation on any day of the week and weekends as well.