Assessing ambulatory blood pressure in renal diseases: facts and concerns

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Abstract
Office blood pressure (OBP) measurement has provided the basis for what is known about the potential risk associated with hypertension and has guided patient management for many years. The mercury sphygmomanometer was the standard method for BP measurement since early this century. In the last few years, however, a rapid increase in the use of automatic and semiautomatic devices for measuring BP has been observed in medical and non-medical environments. This was the consequence of awareness of the importance of BP values taken under regular living conditions. Additionally, the upcoming ban on the use of mercury in developed countries, already a practice in the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, has led to the almost inevitable conclusion that the Riva Rocci technique will disappear from clinical practice, and the mercury sphygmomanometer will be replaced by accurate, independently-validated automated devices.