At UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin, our Heart and Vascular Care doctors monitor daily changes in blood pressure to help decide whether you should have treatment for high or low blood pressure. Your blood pressure varies throughout the day, depending on your activity levels, your body position, emotional and psychological factors, and medications.

 

Occasional checks at the pharmacy or your doctor's clinic only give a snapshot of your blood pressure. An ambulatory blood pressure monitor can give your doctor an entire day's worth of readings. This important tool will help him or her decide on the best plan to take concerning your blood pressure control.

 

 

You will be fitted with a blood pressure cuff that will take your blood pressures throughout the day and record them in the monitor's memory. When you return with the monitor, the blood pressure readings will be transferred to a computer where they will be analyzed. Your doctor will get a report discussing the readings and their significance.

 

 

Patients with high blood pressure readings in the doctor's office, patients with highly variable blood pressure readings, patients on high blood pressure medications and patients with symptoms suggestive of low blood pressure.

 

 

A physician's referral is required. Contact your health insurance provider for questions about whether this procedure is a covered benefit. Not all health insurance providers pay for this test.

 

 

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is available in the Research Park Clinic. Please arrive at the clinic on time and check in with the receptionist when you arrive. Wear a loose-fitting, short-sleeved shirt or blouse, and bring a list of your current medications with you. The visit will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes. A second visit is required the next day to return the monitor.