[Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease].

Circadian blood pressure (BP) patterns are regulated mainly by autonomic nerve system. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) reveals that BP has circadian pattern over a 24 h period. The decline in nocturnal BP by 10-20% is considered to be normal (a dipper pattern). Non-dipper, riser, and extreme-dipper circadian patterns are considered to be abnormal because of their association with poor prognosis and end organ damage such as heart failure and cerebral vascular disease (CVD). On the other hand, end organ damage alters circadian BP patterns especially at night and people with CVD or heart failure have a high prevalence of abnormal circadian BP patterns.