24-hour Blood Pressure Monitoring

24-hour blood pressure monitoring is used to assess blood pressure control in reaction to the activities of daily living. You will be given a portable automatic blood pressure unit, which measures and stores your blood pressure and heart rate readings at predetermined intervals (every 30 minutes during the day, and every 60 minutes during the night).

How to Prepare for this Test

There is no specific preparation for this test. Just remember that once the monitor is applied, you will be wearing it for 24 hours. The recorder you will be wearing should not interfere with your normal routine, and there are only a few guidelines while wearing it, please take note of them below.

What Happens During this Test

You will wear the Blood Pressure Monitoring device for a period of 24 hours. During this time, please:

• Go about your normal daily activities
• Limit excessive physical activity whenever the Monitor beeps and the cuff begins to inflate. Keep your arm as still and relaxed as possible until the cuff is completely deflated
• Plan on restricting any excessive travel, stress or physical activity on the day of your test
• Please ensure that you return the monitor the following day at the same time
• The machine may or may not display the readings. The display panel on the machine will usually show a series of lines like this — –, which means the monitor is working correctly
• If the machine goes off frequently, for example every 5 minutes, then it is a signal that there is something wrong with the machine
• If this happens, you must follow these instructions:
• Look at the cuff, and make sure that the arrow pointing downward on the bottom of the cuff is in the middle of your arm.
• When the machine is taking a reading, your arm must be still and relaxed.
• Sit down and relax for a couple of minutes until the machine can take another reading.