Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), also called a blood pressure Holter, measures your blood pressure many times over a full day, including while you sleep.
It is used to confirm whether a person has high blood pressure, to see whether treatment keeps it under control all day long, and to find cases where blood pressure goes up only at the doctor’s office, because of nerves during the visit.
Your test, step by step
Before
- Come freshly showered.
- Ask your doctor whether you should take your blood pressure medicines as usual during the test.
What to bring
- Doctor's order.
- Copy of your ID and your health insurance card.
- Authorization from your health insurer.
During
- A cuff is placed on your arm and connected to a small device that you wear at your waist.
- The cuff inflates on its own several times during the day and night. When it inflates, stay still and keep your arm relaxed and straight.
- Do your normal activities and sleep with the device on.
- Do not get the device wet or take it off.
- Write down the time you go to bed and get up, the time you take your medicines, and any symptoms you have.
- If you have chest pain, shortness of breath, a very severe headache or weakness, don't wait for your appointment: call 123.
After
- Go back at the scheduled time to have the device removed.
- The specialist analyzes all the readings and prepares the report for your doctor.
Questions to ask your doctor
Tick the ones you want to ask, add your own and print your list.
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