The value of home blood pressure monitoring.

Home blood pressure (BP) monitoring has become popular and acceptable. The value of home BP monitoring has been recognized, because it has some potential advantages over office BP. Home BP monitoring is more accurate and reproducible, has a better prognostic value, and increases patients' compliance with treatment. Home BP monitoring should be performed with an adequate device, following a standardized procedure. The automated arm-cuff-oscillometric devices are recommended currently, and home BP should be measured at least twice daily, in the morning and in the evening. Home BP monitoring has revealed the phenomena of "white-coat hypertension," "masked hypertension," and "morning hypertension," and it is useful for their management. In the future, home BP monitoring will be an essential aspect of clinical practice.