Abstract
Because gender differences and age trends have been amply documented to characterize blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in health, it is not appropriate to use fixed limits (such as 140/90 mm Hg SBP/DBP) for screening and/or diagnosis of adults 18 years and older, as is the current practice. Chronobiologic reference standards have been derived that are specified by gender and ethnicity for specified age groups. The improvement they offer over the status quo notwithstanding, such limits pose problems when longitudinal series from individuals crossing the boundaries of consecutive age groups need to be interpreted. New strategies for developing reference values are proposed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 107-112 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Scripta Medica Facultatis Medicae Universitatis Brunensis Masarykianae |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Blood pressure
- Chronobiologic reference value
- Circadian rhythm
- Heart rate