Portable Recorder in Hypertensive Patients

THE clinical significance of the "casual" arterial blood pressure level recorded in a physician's office or in an outpatient clinic is often difficult to interpret.1-12 As most physicians are aware, such casual readings may not be representative of the patient's usual blood pressure. Clinical investigators have therefore measured the blood pressure iri a variety of circumstances in the hope of acquiring more meaningful information about its range and variability. In addition to frequently repeated casual pressures, they have examined "basal' pressures,' pressures taken at home either by the patient or a member of his family,3 and pressures taken after breath-holding,'3 during cold pressor tests'14 and after mental arithmetic 15 or other stimuli.7, 16 Although the data obtained contribute to a broader and more dynamic picture of the blood pressure, the conditions of each study are more or less artificial; thus, the recorded pressures may not reflect the patient's pressure levels during normal daily activity. Recently, Hinman and associates 17 developed a semiautomatic portable blood pressure recorder that a patient can wear with little inconvenience while going about his usual routine. The pressure cuff is placed on the upper arm and the electronic equipment and battery are worn at the waist (fig. 1).