[Use of ambulatory recording of arterial pressure]

It is often difficult for the physician to decide the need for antihypertensive therapy on the basis of office blood pressure readings. This decision is important for the individual patient since lifelong treatment may be started in some instances though blood pressure is elevated only when taken at the physician's office. For this reason the Remler, a portable and patient-activated blood pressure recorder, appears to be very useful in evaluating ambulatory blood pressure profiles during normal daily activities.