I am wholeheartedly anticipating the Masked Hypertension Project being conducted in my work place. Research on hypertension is a serious issue, therefore I will not joke about it. I know I am carrying the genes that causing hypertension, which could have been traced many generations back, and surely has passed it on to my son, therefore his children. So I am trying to do some good for the benefit of myself and my offspring.

Masked Hypertension is new to me. For those who are reading this post might want to know a little about it and how the project conducted.

Masked Hypertension applies to the phenomenon of having normal blood pressure at the doctor’s office and high blood pressure outside it. The purpose of the project is to investigate the factors. 

There are five office visits in the phase one study, which I have done with three, and a 90-minutes questionnaire to complete. My blood pressure was measured six times in each of the first three visits with a two-minute rest in between, three times by a nurse and three times by a machine. Yesterday afternoon after the third visit, I was provided an ambulatory blood pressure monitor along with a cuff, a palm pilot, an Actiwatch and an Actical. I have to carry them from 4:30 yesterday afternoon to 4:30 this afternoon, a 24-hour monitoring process, except when showering, bathing, swimming or engaging in vigorous exercises.

The monitor goes off automatically every 25-30 minutes to take a reading. After each measurement, I am required to complete an electronic diary entry with many varied questions built in the palm pilot. If the reading fails, the monitor will attempt a repeat reading two minutes later. The measurements during sleep will be compared with the awake blood pressure readings, which is another indictor of cardiovascular health. The Actiwatch, placed on the wrist the way a regular wristwatch is placed, records physical movement during sleep and provides information about overall sleep quality. The Actical is worn on the iliac crest so that it rests on the most protruding hipbone in order to measure activity during the day and provide with a continuous estimate of the amount of energy I am using. The fifth visit will last three hours, during which a comprehensive cardiovascular diagnostic evaluation will be given. I will need to fast for 12 hours before that visit which will be scheduled for a weekday morning (approximately 6-9 am).