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Blood pressure levels correlate with intra-individual variability using an automated device in early pregnancy

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 22, pages 438–440 (2008)Cite this article

This study reports on the interdependence of intra-individual blood pressure (BP) variability and the BP level in early pregnancy. The higher the BP the more exaggerated the drop from the first to the second reading and the higher the intra-individual standard deviation (s.d.).

Pregnancy is a window of opportunity to screen for essential hypertension by measurement of BP. However, accurate assessment of BP has been hindered by the considerable variability that BP exhibits within each individual. Patients with higher BP have higher variability1 and a more exaggerated response to stressful stimuli.2 During BP measurement at rest the first recording is usually the highest and this decreases as the patients become more familiar with the procedure.3, 4, 5, 6 It is therefore recommended that a series of BP measurements should be made until a pre-specified level of stability is achieved.7 However, there is evidence that a high first measurement may not be a benign finding and can be predictive of subsequent development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.1, 8, 9

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, UK

    L C Y Poon, N Kametas, C M Valencia, I V Pandeva & K H Nicolaides

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  1. L C Y Poon
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  2. N Kametas
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  3. C M Valencia
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  4. I V Pandeva
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  5. K H Nicolaides
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Correspondence to N Kametas.

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Poon, L., Kametas, N., Valencia, C. et al. Blood pressure levels correlate with intra-individual variability using an automated device in early pregnancy. J Hum Hypertens 22, 438–440 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002302

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