Morning hypertension is a syndrome about which there is an increasing understanding but ambiguity remains (see: Management of morning hypertension: a consensus statement of an Asian expert panel). Below is a quote from an article on the topic:
Morning hypertension refers to high BP in the morning period, regardless of BP during the rest of the hours of the day. Morning hypertension is defined as morning BP ≥135/85 mm Hg for both ABPM [ambulatory blood pressure monitoring] and home BP monitoring. Clinic BP measurement can be used for screening morning hypertension. The diagnostic threshold is a BP ≥140/90 mm Hg. Morning hypertension in this consensus document includes but is not limited to masked morning hypertension, which was defined in the 2014 Japanese Society of Hypertension Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension as an elevated ABPM or home BP in the morning (≥135/85 mm Hg) and a normal clinic BP (<140/90 mm Hg).
As a subject in a research study called MIPACT (see: U-M launches health study using Apple Watch), I was given an Apple Watch and an Omron IntelliSense blood pressure monitor to generate data for the study at home. Because if was convenient for me, I routinely took my blood pressure in the morning as part of the study. I then discovered that my systolic pressure in the morning was occasionally in the range of 130-135 mm. It thus occurred to me my that I perhaps was a candidate for morning hypertension which would have been missed had I only relied on BPs obtained in my doctor's office (see: Masked Hypertension: A Review).
In previous notes, I have commented about health wearables (see, for example: Sony Develops Health Wearable Providing Connectivity, Stipulating That It's Not a Smartwatch; The Evolution of "Wearable Health Ecosystems" and Associated Partnerships). Historically, most of the medical information about each of us has been previously obtained in settings such as physician offices and hospitals. We are now on the cusp of a shift such that some medical data will be obtained in our homes using our wearable health ecosystems (see: The Evolution of "Wearable Health Ecosystems" and Associated Partnerships).
As suggested by my own observations, it may be more common going forward for a new set of health data to come to the foreground that were unknown and unobserved before because they were only and periodically obtained in physician offices. These include physiological, lab, and even radiology data (e.g., portable handheld ultrasound devices) obtained by consumers at home. I have blogged previously about how wearable heath ecosystems could even generate medical consultations on the basis of these new home observations (see: Status Reports and Hospital Referrals from Wearable Health Ecosystems).
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