Prognostic value of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in refractory hypertension: a prospective study.

Abstract —The objective of this study was to establish whether ambulatory blood pressure offers a better estimate of cardiovascular risk than does its clinical blood pressure counterpart in refractory hypertension. This prospective study assessed the incidence of cardiovascular events over time during an average follow-up of 49 months (range, 6 to 96). Patients were referred to specialized hypertension clinics (86 essential hypertension patients who had diastolic blood pressure >100 mm Hg during antihypertensive treatment that included three or more antihypertensive drugs, one being a diuretic). Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was performed at the time of en…