Self-Measured Bed-Time, Arising and Day Blood Pressures of Normotensive Young Male and Female Adults

Morning surge in blood pressure is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in the middleaged and the elderly. Whether such a surge occurs in young subjects is not known. Eighty normotensive subjects (age: 21.8 ± 1.3 yr) measured their own blood pressure (BP) using an automatic device (Omron HEM-7080,) on going to bed and on waking up, for 2 consecutive days. In contrast to large morning BP surges reported for older age groups, there was much smaller but significant (P<0.002) rise only in the DBP (1.9 ± 5 mm Hg) on waking up on day 2 in young subjects. The duration of sleep and the time the subjects slept influence the sleep-wake BP change.