Also called ABPM, 24-hour BP monitor, Blood pressure holter
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
A cuff worn for 24 hours that measures blood pressure automatically through the day and overnight, giving a truer picture than readings taken in a clinic.
- How long
- Worn 24 hours
- Preparation
- Loose sleeves
- Does it hurt
- The cuff tightens periodically, including at night
- Results
- Reported after analysis
What happens
- 01
A cuff is fitted to the non-dominant arm
It connects to a small recorder worn at the waist. Cuff size is checked, since the wrong size gives inaccurate readings.
- 02
It inflates automatically at set intervals
Typically every 20 to 30 minutes during the day and every 30 to 60 minutes at night. It will wake you at times; that is expected.
- 03
You keep to your normal routine and note activity and sleep times
When a reading starts, keep the arm still and relaxed by your side. Movement is the commonest cause of a failed reading.
- 04
The device is returned and the data analysed
Daytime, night-time and 24-hour averages are calculated, along with the dipping pattern.
What it shows
- Average blood pressure across a full day and night, which predicts risk better than clinic readings
- Whether pressure is raised only in the clinic — white-coat hypertension
- Whether pressure is normal in the clinic but high the rest of the time — masked hypertension, which is easy to miss and carries real risk
- The overnight fall in blood pressure. Absence of that dip is itself a risk marker
- The early-morning rise
- Whether existing treatment is holding across the full dosing interval, or wearing off before the next dose
What it cannot tell you
- Some readings will fail if the arm moves during inflation. A proportion of failed readings is normal and does not invalidate the study.
- It is less reliable in atrial fibrillation, where beat-to-beat variation affects the measurement.
- Sleep is often disturbed, which can itself raise night-time readings slightly.
How to prepare
- Wear a loose-sleeved top; the cuff sits directly on the upper arm under clothing.
- Continue your usual medicines and note the times you take them, unless told otherwise.
- Keep a simple diary of activity, meals, medicines, and when you went to bed and got up.
- Do not remove the cuff to sleep. Night-time readings are among the most informative part of the study.
Conditions this helps assess
Other tests
Book a consultation
Tests are arranged after an assessment, so that each one is answering a question that matters in your case.
- Clinic
- 13, Ground Floor, M.K. Plaza, Hospital Road, near Madhav Dispensary
Gwalior 474001
Directions - OPD hours
- Monday to Saturday
12:30–2:30 pm, 5:30–6:30 pm
Closed Sunday - In an emergency
- Do not use this site. Call 108 for an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency department.