Recent data suggest that masked hypertension (MH) carries a cardiovascular risk similar to that of uncontrolled hypertension.
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of MH in patients treated for hypertension in a Canadian primary care setting.
Office blood pressure (OBP) was measured at baseline and after 3 months of valsartan-based therapy in 5636 hypertensive patients who had recorded their home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) for seven consecutive days at month 3 using an Omron HEM-711 apparatus. MH was defined in nondiabetic patients as an OBP