Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in the diagnosis and management of arterial hypertension in current medical practice in Algeria

Objectives There are limited data on the management of hypertension (HT) in Algeria. The aim of this study was to assess in current medical practice the use and benefits of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for the diagnosis and management of HT. Methods A prospective, observational, multicenter study was performed in 2017. Patients aged ≥ 18 years with suspected or treated HT were included. A 24-hour ABPM was performed at baseline in all patients. Therapeutic decision was taken according to ABPM results and patients were then followed up to 6 weeks. Results The analysis included 1027 patients (mean age, 51.0 years; women, 61.6%) with treated HT (37.3%) or suspected HT (62.7%). Major cardiovascular risk factors were diabetes (15.7%) and lipid disorders (7.2%). Daytime ABPM was pathological in 55.1% of patients on antihypertensive treatment and in 60.8% of patients with suspected HT. A therapeutic adjustment or a treatment switch was performed after ABPM in 65.4% of patients already on antihypertensive treatment and an antihypertensive therapy was initiated in 88.9% of patients with initially suspected HT. Therapeutic strategy was mainly based on monotherapy regimen in 35.8% of patients with treated HT and in 69.3% of patients with initial suspicion of HT. Most frequent treatments were angiotensin receptor antagonists (55.3% and 50.0%, respectively). Comparable findings were observed 6 weeks later. Conclusions Our results confirm that ABPM is a highly valuable method in diagnosing and confirming HT, as well as in guiding and assessing antihypertensive therapy.