New methods in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: interactive monitoring and detection of posture and movement patterns

Psychophysiological monitoring can be used to assess emotional reactivity in cardiovascular measures. Since blood pressure (BP) variability in daily life is primarily caused by physical activity, metabolic and nonmetabolic effects are confounded. A newly developed method of multiple accelerometry allows for the control of such unwanted variances by continuously detecting posture, general activity, and distinct movement patterns. Contingent on episodes of additional heart rate (AHR), an indicator of emotional reactivity, BP measurements can be triggered and participants prompted to enter their current mood in a handheld PC. To evaluate both new methods for BP research, we performed 24-h ambulatory monitoring with 40 normotensive student participants, an evaluation designed to include standard settings for a controlled comparison (library vs. cinema). Findings indicated that the group at the cinema showed higher values of AHR, but group differences in BP were not observed. On the whole, such multiple accelerometry and interactive monitoring appear to be useful methods in behavior research.