ABP

(Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor)

What is an ABP Monitor? This is a small machine, about the size of a portable radio. You wear it on a belt. This machine lets your doctor find out what your blood pressure was every 15 to 30 minutes of a normal day. The picture below shows a person wearing an ambulatory blood pressure monitor. It can be worn under your clothes without anyone seeing it. The information collected by this machine can help you and your doctor see if your blood pressure treatment is working.

Your doctor may want you to use an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for these reasons:

If you have "borderline" high blood pressure
If you and your doctor can't keep your blood pressure low
If you have blood pressure problems caused by your other medicines
If you are pregnant
If you have fainting spells

The monitor may help your doctor find out if you are a person who only has high blood pressure in the doctor's office (this is called "white-coat hypertension"). If you have this kind of hypertension, you may not need to take medicine.