Comparison of nighttime measurement schedules using a wrist-type nocturnal home blood pressure monitoring device

Abstract

We investigated the optimal nighttime home blood pressure (BP) measurement schedule for wrist BP monitoring. Fifty hypertensive patients (mean age 68.9 ± 11.3 years) self-measured their nighttime BP hourly using a wrist-type nocturnal home BP monitoring device at home on two consecutive nights. Using the average 7.2 ± 1.5 measurements per night, we compared the clock-based index (average of three measurements at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 a.m.) and the bedtime-based index (average of three measurements at 2, 3, and 4 h after bedtime). The clock-based average was significantly higher than the bedtime-based average for both systolic BP (2.7 ± 8.2 mmHg, P =.002) and diastolic BP (1.9 ± 5.1 mmHg, P