Abstract
Masked hypertension is defined as normal level of blood pressure when measured in doctor's office and hypertension levels outside of it. Prevalence is usually reported to be around 15%.
It is more often detected among patients who had pressure measured in the office at the upper limit of normal blood pressure, or 130-139/80-89 mmHg. More common occurrence is among men, smokers.
It is associated with alcohol consumption, stress in workplace, obesity, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with masked hypertension are almost close to those with persistent hypertension.
The recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association state that the presence of organ complications associated with hypertension in individuals who have not yet been diagnosed with hypertension as a clear indication for screening of masked hypertension. There haven't been issued any clear recommendation for masked hypertension, hence therapy is empirical.