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Clinical Significance of Nocturnal Hypertension and Nighttime Blood Pressure Dipping in Hypertension

  • Blood Pressure Monitoring and Management (J Cockcroft, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This narrative review article aims to discuss more recent evidence, current challenges, and future perspectives regarding the clinical importance of nocturnal hypertension and nighttime blood pressure dipping, with particular reference to diagnosis, prognostic value, and therapeutic approach.

Recent Findings

The importance of nighttime blood pressure and nighttime blood pressure dipping has been demonstrated in decades. Increased nighttime blood pressure has been acknowledged as an unfavorable clinical trait. However, more recent evidence suggests that the abolishment of normal circadian blood pressure rhythm is not always a solid predictor of adverse cardiovascular events and needs to be interpreted in the light of each patients’ individual characteristics. Physicians treating hypertensive patients with adverse nighttime blood pressure profiles often face the dilemma of chronotherapy. This has been a blurred field for years, yet very recent evidence from appropriately designed studies attempts to shed light on this puzzling question.

Summary

As 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is being increasingly recommended and applied in real-world practice for the diagnosis and monitoring of hypertension, information on nighttime blood pressure and nocturnal dipping profile is collected but is not always easy to interpret.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Second Medical Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Panagiota Anyfanti

  2. 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Anastasia Malliora, Agapi Chionidou, Konstantinos Mastrogiannis, Antonios Lazaridis & Eugenia Gkaliagkousi

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  1. Panagiota Anyfanti
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Correspondence to Eugenia Gkaliagkousi.

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Anyfanti, P., Malliora, A., Chionidou, A. et al. Clinical Significance of Nocturnal Hypertension and Nighttime Blood Pressure Dipping in Hypertension. Curr Hypertens Rep 26, 69–80 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-023-01277-x

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