Comparison between Continuous Ambulatory Arterial Blood Pressure Monitoring and Standard Blood Pressure Measurements among Patients of Younger and Older Age Group

The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether there is a difference between blood pressure measured in a physician’s office and the average 24hr continuous blood pressure monitored by hypertensive patients at home. If there is a difference between these two situations then is it possibly the result of a blood pressure response by the patient to the physician which is known as »white coat effect« or »white coat hypertension«. We studied 80 hypertensive outpatients which were divided into two groups of 40 patients each – a younger patient group, with a mean age of 22.8 ± 1.8 years, and an older patient group with a mean age of 50.3 ± 5.7 years. They were selected because they had been diagnosed as essentially hypertension grade 1, according to 2007 ESH/ESC Guidelines, or the USA Joint National Committee Guidelines (JNC 7) (i.e., arterial blood pressure > 140/90 mm Hg and