IV. NORMAL FLUCTUATIONS IN BLOOD PRESSURE
E. Home Measurements
Home measurements of blood pressure are crucial for the adequate management of hypertension in more than 33% of hypertensives. A record of home measurements veri¬fied by measurements outside the physician’s office is an important strategy to prevent overmedication.
Measurements in the home have been shown to give virtually all of the information provided by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The home or ambulatory readings have been shown in studies to be comparable, reproducible, and considerably lower than office readings. Home blood pressure measurements are strongly indicated for the following:
• To assist the physician with the diagnosis of borderline or stage 1 hypertension (see stages given above in Section III)
• To exclude short term hypertension that may occur for a few months because of stressful situations at work or at home and do not require lifelong medications
• To exclude white-coat hypertension
• To exclude pseudohypertension in the elderly
• To monitor response to therapy to avoid the addition of another antihypertensive agent to achieve control, thus preventing overmedication for so-called uncon¬trolled blood pressure in an office setting