[The measurement of arterial pressure and the diagnosis of hypertension].

Blood pressure measurement remains the determining factor in defining hypertension. In daily practice, measurement in the practitioner's office is the reference used for diagnosis and follow-up. According to the classification established in the VIth Report of the NIH Joint National Committee in 1997, the upper normal value is below 139 mmHg for systolic and 89 mmHg for diastolic pressure. Hypertension cannot be confirmed by a single high measurement or at a single consultation. In addition, it should be remembered that: self-measurement should remain under medical control; its upper normal values (135/85) have the advantage of being obtained outside the medical setting; exercise tolerance tests, often using an ergometric bicycle, demonstrate the possibility of cardiovascular adaptation to physical exercise; ambulatory blood pressure measurement affords repeated measurements over 24 h, also with lower reference values (135/85 mmHg), and detects "white coat" hypertension and anomalies of the nycthemeral cycle.