Morning hypertension is more common in elderly hypertensive patients with controlled documented office blood pressure in primary care clinics: the Minhang study.

Background: Increased morning blood pressure (BP) has been associated with fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, especially in Asians.

Method: To detect the control status of home BP, we performed a home BP monitoring study, including elderly patients with hypertension who had controlled documented office BP in Chinese primary care clinics. In 707 participants from Xinzhuang County Hospital in Shanghai, the home BP was measured by a memory-equipped device three times daily for seven consecutive days.

Results: The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension was 51.3% in the morning and 42% in the evening. Uncontrolled morning hypertension was associated with age [odds ratio (OR): 1.074; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.041-1.108], office SBP (OR: 1.027; 95% CI: 1.015-1.039), office DBP (OR: 1.042; 95% CI: 1.021-1.064), and the number of antihypertensive drugs taken (OR: 1.387; 95% CI: 1.059-1.817), whereas it was inversely associated with the use of long-acting antihypertensive drugs (OR: 0.588; 95% CI: 0.355-0.973). Compared with office BP, the home morning BP showed a more significant association with age and short-acting antihypertensive drugs.

Conclusion: The prevalence of uncontrolled home BP is high in elderly Chinese hypertensive patients, especially in the morning, and home BP monitoring might be a feasible method for detecting it. The use of long-acting antihypertensive drugs might help to improve morning hypertension.