Head, Geoffrey A., Christopher M. Reid, and Elena V. Lukoshkova. Nonsymmetrical double logistic analysis of ambulatory blood pressure recordings. J Appl Physiol 98: [1511][1512][1513][1514][1515][1516][1517][1518] 2005. First published November 5, 2004; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00647.2004.-We developed an asymmetric double logistic curve-fitting procedure for circadian analysis that can determine the rate of change in variables during the day-to-night separately from the night-to-day transition for use in animal studies. We now have applied this procedure to 24-h systolic (SAP) and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) and heart rate ambulatory recordings from 302 patients. In 292 cases, all parameters showed a pattern of higher day and lower night values. In men there was a similar rate of transition between day and night or from night to day for both SAP and DAP that lasted 3-4 h, indicating a symmetrical diurnal pattern. By contrast, women showed a faster rate of decrease in mean arterial pressure in the evening compared with men (P Ͻ 0.05) and therefore showed an asymmetric diurnal SAP pattern. For both men and women, there was a markedly greater rate of morning increase in heart rate compared with the rate of evening decrease (2.2-and 1.9-fold, respectively, P Ͻ 0.001). The logistic method provided a better fit than the square-wave or the cosinor method (P Ͻ 0.001) and more appropriately detected nondippers. We conclude that analysis of ambulatory recordings by a new logistic curve-fitting method reveals more rapid reductions in evening SAP in women than men but both have two-to threefold more rapid morning rates of tachycardia. The ability of the double logistic method to determine the diurnal blood pressure rates of change independently is key to determining new markers for cardiovascular risk. circadian rhythm; male-female differences; logistic equation; heart rate AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE (ABP) monitoring devices are now very widely used for detecting white coat hypertension, for adjusting drug therapy for hypertensive patients, as well as for predicting the level of hypertension-induced enlargement of the heart and thickening of the blood vessels (10). ABP recorders have also confirmed earlier findings by invasive methods that there is a clear diurnal pattern in blood pressure (BP). Values are highest in the morning, decrease gradually during the day, and reach the lowest values at night. Although the exact mechanisms for the rhythm are not yet fully understood, physical activity and periods of rest strongly influence the diurnal BP pattern (7).Known methods of analysis of circadian rhythms have generally involved averaging BP records at fixed clock times or synchronizing records relative to the time of waking. Thus the data are segmented into a higher pressure period, approximating the daytime awake period, and a low-pressure period corresponding to the nighttime sleep period. The difference in these two BP levels constitutes the major circadian variation in BP. However, this approach is rather limited, ...