Reproducibility of morning blood pressure surge and its relation to blood pressure reactivity.

This study examined the stability of the morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) and its relation to blood pressure (BP) reactivity in untreated hypertensives. Thirty-six participants completed a stress task at baseline. Ambulatory BP monitoring was carried out three times on a weekday. The MBPS demonstrated small reproducibility and large coefficient of variation. The MBPS correlated with nighttime BP (p = 0.001) but not morning BP or BP reactivity. Dippers had greater MBPS than did nondippers (p < 0.05). The MBPS provides distinct information that is different from the BP response to mental stress.