Casual blood pressure measurements have been extensively questioned over the last
five decades. A significant percentage of patients have different blood pressure
readings when examined in the office or outside it. For this reason, a change in
the paradigm of the best manner to assess blood pressure has been observed. The
method that has been most widely used is the Ambulatory Blood Pressure
Monitoring - ABPM. The method allows recording blood pressure measures in 24
hours and evaluating various parameters such as mean BP, pressure loads, areas
under the curve, variations between daytime and nighttime, pulse pressure
variability etc. Blood pressure measurements obtained by ABPM are better
correlated, for example, with the risks of hypertension. The main indications
for ABPM are: suspected white coat hypertension and masked hypertension,
evaluation of the efficacy of the antihypertensive therapy in 24 hours, and
evaluation of symptoms. There is increasing evidence that the use of ABPM has
contributed to the assessment of blood pressure behaviors, establishment of
diagnoses, prognosis and the efficacy of antihypertensive therapy. There is no
doubt that the study of 24-hour blood pressure behavior and its variations by
ABPM has brought more light and less darkness to the field, which justifies the
title of this review.