24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is used widely in secondary care hypertension clinics, so what about its use in the primary care setting, where the majority of hypertension clinics take place? What are the potential benefits of ambulatory monitoring? Which patients should ABPM be used for? In this article we review the nuts and bolts of ABPM – when to use it, how to perform the test to obtain an accurate assessment of 24-hour BP and how to apply the results in clinical practice.