[Circulatory Function Tests for Home & Community Use.]

Currently, the main circulatory function-testing tools for home use are blood pressure monitors and elec- trocardiography devices. Just like blood pressure monitors that are already widespread for home use, some devices with an electrocardiographic function have recently become available for purchase for personal use by the general public. On the other hand, clinic equipment on loan from doctors to patients in need can perform circulatory function tests like 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), Holter monitoring, and real-time electrocardiography. We introduce the actual clinical usage of ABPM and real-time electro- cardiography, and discuss the usefulness of these procedures. ABPM uses a blood pressure measurement device worn on the body for 24 hours a day to measure blood pressure at regular intervals. This makes it possible to check blood pressure changes throughout the day in a way in which conventional home-use blood pressure monitors cannot, like during sleep. This method al- lows the identification of masked hypertension like early-morning and nocturnal hypertension, stress hyper- tension including workplace hypertension, and white coat hypertension that only occurs in the doctor's office. Under routine care, there are few opportunities to perform electrocardiography at the time a patient is experiencing symptoms. Now, real-time electrocardiography has begun to be used in routine care, and pa- tients can record an electrocardiogram by themselves anytime, anywhere, and send the data by telephone or the Internet for analysis and diagnosis. Transmission-capable electrocardiography devices can play an im- portant role in the event of dangerous symptoms like arrhythmia, angina, or acute myocardial infarction. The spread of ABPM and event heart monitors is likely to make the early treatment and prevention of stroke and heart disease possible. We are expecting rapid development in this field in the future.