1. Maximum home blood pressure: a novel indicator of target-organ damage in hypertension  Blood pressure variability has recently been shown to be a strong predictor of stroke and cardiovascular events, independently of the mean systolic blood pressure level. 1  The clinical implication of variability in blood pressure, as measured by home blood pressure monitoring, has never been reported.  A new study has investigated the association between maximum home blood pressure and target-organ damage in 356 never-treated hypertensive subjects. 1. Rothwell PM et al. Lancet. 2010;375:938-948. 2. Matsui Y et al. Hypertens, 2011;57: in press

2. Maximum home systolic blood pressure measurements were observed up to 50 times per day Number of episodes per/day Matsui Y et al. Hypertens. 2011;57: in press

3. High incidence of maximum home systolic blood pressure is associated with a high degree of cardiac and vascular remodeling Matsui Y et al. Hypertens. 2011;57: in press

4. Conclusion This study provides additional information on the importance of blood pressure stabilization to prevent cardiovascular complication in hypertensive patients:  Transiently high blood pressure readings at home should be taken seriously as meaningful indicators for hypertensive damage in the heart and artery. 1  The variability in systolic blood pressure can be simply assessed by home blood pressure measurements. 1  This study confirms, that effective antihypertensive treatment should not only reduce, but also stabilize blood pressure. 2 1. Matsui Y et al. Hypertens. 2011;57: in press; 2.Rothwell PM. et al. Lancet. 2010;375:938-948.