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Reaching a definitive diagnosis of hypertension

24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM)

How is the test performed?

A small device is worn for 24-hours
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FAQs

What is high blood pressure and hypertension?

Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force against your blood vessels as blood is pumped from your heart throughout your body. High blood pressure occurs when there is too much pressure in your blood vessels. Over time this pressure can damage blood vessels and organs and lead to serious health problems.

Hypertension
Hypertension and high blood pressure are frequently used interchangeably. However, hypertension is a specific condition in which blood pressure is consistently higher than normal. Many people are not even aware if they have hypertension as it has no warning signs or symptoms and can only be diagnosed through blood pressure monitoring. Hypertension can affect anyone and usually once it’s developed it lasts for life and requires on-going management.

Uncontrolled hypertension increases the risk of:

  • Stroke
  • Kidney disease
  • Heart attack
  • Eye problems
  • Heart failure
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Dementia
  • Diabetes
What is Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring?

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) requires you to wear a small device that monitors your blood pressure over the course of 24-hours. The device measures and records your blood pressure at regular intervals (typically every 15-30 minutes). Recording your blood pressure over a set period of time can provide a more reliable measurement than one single reading. This information helps to provide vital information including:

  • An estimate of true or mean blood pressure
  • The diurnal rhythm (your usual sleeping and awake cycle) of blood pressure
  • Blood pressure variability
Who should get tested?

Hypertension doesn’t usually have early warning signs or symptoms until your blood pressure has reached a critical stage. You should speak to your healthcare provider about Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring if you have a family history of hypertension, have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, or have other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

When is this test ordered?

Your healthcare provider may order Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring if:

  • They are unable to obtain an accurate blood pressure reading in their office (e.g. fluctuating reading, episodic or white-coat hypertension)
  • They suspect drug-resistant hypertension
  • You have hypotensive symptoms with antihypertensive therapy
  • You are exhibiting autonomic dysfunction
How can I get tested?

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring is available at select LifeLabs Patient Service Centres across Ontario and British Columbia. Your healthcare provider will give you the LifeLabs location details with ABPM services closest to you to arrange for the testing.

An appointment to set up the monitor, along with a signed requisition from your healthcare provider is required.

For booking your ABPM appointment, call:

Ontario: 1-877-849-3637
British Columbia: 1-855-412-4495

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring is available at select LifeLabs Patient Service Centres across Ontario and British Columbia. Your healthcare provider will give you the LifeLabs location details with ABPM services closest to you to arrange for the testing.

An appointment to set up the monitor, along with a signed requisition from your healthcare provider is required.

For booking your ABPM appointment, call:

Ontario: 1-877-849-3637
British Columbia: 1-855-412-4495

An appointment is required to complete this test as it requires specialized staff and/or specific medical equipment. To book your appointment, please visit our location finder and select specialty test name in the Specialty Test dropdown filter when entering your search criteria.

Please ensure you have a completed and signed test requisition from your health care provider and your health card on the day of your appointment.

How is the test done?

A small, lightweight and quiet blood pressure monitor with a 100% latex-free cuff is placed on your upper arm. Over 24-hours, the cuff will inflate every 15-30 minutes and take a blood pressure reading. While wearing the monitor you can go about your day as normal, while keeping a diary of what you were doing at the time of the reading

When the monitor is placed on your arm, a LifeLabs staff member will set it up and provide you with a complete set of instructions.

For more information, please download the ABPM information brochure.
Check out the Ontario brochure here Check out the Ontario brochure hereCheck out the BC brochure here

Schedule an appointment by visiting locations.lifelabs.com and use the specialty test dropdown filter to find LifeLabs location that provide ABPM near you.

Understanding your results

Test results will be provided directly to your healthcare provider for discussion with you.

FAQs

Overview

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) measures blood pressure at regular intervals (typically, every 15-30 minutes) throughout the day and night. As per Hypertension Canada’s 2018 guidelines1, ABPM is especially useful to evaluate:

  • Suspected white-coat hypertension in patients with hypertension and no target organ damage
  • Apparent drug-resistant hypertension, in which BP is not below target despite receiving appropriate chronic antihypertensive therapy
  • Hypotensive symptoms with antihypertensive therapy
  • Episodic hypertension or fluctuating office BP readings
  • Autonomic dysfunction

ABPM is considered the gold standard test for diagnosing white coat hypertension and should be performed if this entity is suspected. ABPM is useful to determine whether the blood pressure falls at night compared to daytime values. As a nighttime fall is normal, absence of a night time dip is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk and other end-organ damage.

Alongside ABPM, through LifeLabs you can order all the tests recommended by Hypertension Canada’s 2018 guidelines to aid in the preliminary investigation of hypertension in a single visit:

  1. Urinalysis
  2. Blood chemistry (potassium, sodium and creatinine)
  3. Fasting blood glucose and/or glycated hemoglobin (A1c)
  4. Serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), non-HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides
  5. Standard 12-lead ECG
How to Order

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring is available at select LifeLabs Patient Service Centres across Ontario and British Columbia.

In Ontario, please indicate ‘ABPM’ in the ‘Other Tests’ section of the standard OHIP requisition.

In British Columbia, please indicate ‘ABPM’ in the ‘Other Tests’ section of the standard LifeLabs requisition for your region.

Appointments for your patients can be booked by calling our customer care at:

Ontario: 1-877-849-3637
BC: 1-855-412-4495

Appointments for your patients can be booked by calling our customer care at:

Ontario: 1-877-849-3637
BC: 1-855-412-4495

To book an ABPM appointment, patients can visit our Location Finder and use the specialty test dropdown filter to find a LifeLabs location that offers ABPM appointments near them.

LifeLabs Locations offering ABPM

Ontario Locations

Brampton

200 – 36 Vodden Street East

Mississauga

406 – 2300 Eglinton Avenue West

Burlington

102 – 3155 Harvester Road

Mississauga

105 – 1420 Burnhamthorpe Road East

Etobicoke

111 – 1436 Royal York Road

Mississauga

138 – 101 The Queensway

Etobicoke

403 – 3101 Bloor Street West

North York

108-109 – 1100 Sheppard Avenue East

Georgetown

102 – 99 Sinclair Avenue

Oakville

B08 – 1235 Trafalgar Road

Hamilton

1007 – 989 Fennell Avenue East

Oakville

205 – 3075 Hospital Gate

Hamilton

280 Queenston Road

St. Thomas

25 Elm Street

London

1350 Fanshawe Road

St. Thomas

417 Wellington Street

London

746 Baseline Road

Toronto

491 Lawrence Ave West

London

1150 Richmond Street

Toronto

104 – 2425 Bloor Street West

London

470 Springbank Road

Toronto

101 – 688 Coxwell Avenue

London

124 Barker Street

Toronto

3 – 526 St. Clair Avenue West

London

279 Wharncliffe Road

Toronto

401 – 340 College Street

London

450 Central Avenue

Toronto

206 – 600 Sherbourne Street

London

140 Oxford Street East

Toronto

630 – 115 Humber College Boulevard

BC Locations

Aldergrove 6310 Fraser Highway Suite 610
Brickyard PSC 6010 Brickyard Rd Suite 203
Buswell PSC 6451 Buswell St Suite 170
Campbell River PSC 465 Merecroft Road, Unit B-5B
Champlain Square PSC 3150 E. 54th Ave Suite 340
Clearbrook PSC 2825 Clearbrook Road Suite 207
Dawson Creek PSC 705 103rd Ave Suite 2
Douglas Crescent PSC 5503 206th Street Suite 209
Dunbar PSC 3540 W. 41st Ave Suite 112
Dundarave PSC 2419 Bellevue Ave Suite 115
Eagleridge PSC 1194 Lansdowne Drive Suite 313
East Hastings PSC 1506 E. Hastings Street
Fairmont PSC 750 W. Broadway Suite 701
Fort PSC 1900 Richmond Road Suite 130 
Gibsons PSC 1100 Sunshine Coast Hwy Suite 118
Gordon PSC 3001 Gordon Ave Suite 208
Ingram PSC 149 Ingram St Suite 102
King Edward PSC 972 West King Edward Avenue
Maple Ridge PSC 11743 224th Street Suite 101
Millstream PSC 2401G Millstream Rd Suite 125
No 2 Road PSC 6180 Blundell Rd Suite 172
Park Gate PSC 3650 Mt Seymour Parkway Suite 201
Parksville PSC 489 Alberni Hwy Unit 110
Port Alberni PSC 3949 Maple Way Suite 106
Port Place PSC 650 S. Terminal Ave Suite 106
Prince George PSC 1669 Victoria St Suite 110
Quesnel PSC 665 Front St Suite 15
Regent PSC 2184 W. Broadway Suite 290
Satnam Place PSC 7130 120th St Suite 113
Scott Road PSC 12080 Nordel Way Suite 201
St Paul PSC 546 St Paul St Suite 135
Sunwood PSC 6345 120th Street Suite 122
Terrace PSC 4634 Park Ave. Suite 105
Tranquille PSC 685 Tranquille Rd Suite 1
Westshore PSC 2945 Jacklin Road Suite 131
Willowbrook PSC 19653 Willowbrook Drive Suite 130

 

Cost

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is not covered by the provincial health insurance plan (OHIP). Please call LifeLabs customer care at 1-877-849-3637 (ON) or 1-855-412-4495 (BC) to obtain fee information and arrange for an appointment.

Payment may be made by the patient when the monitor is set up at one of our Patient Service Centres. For convenience, Visa, Mastercard and Debit Cards are accepted.

Patients are encouraged to check with their private health care provider to see if coverage is provided.

Receiving Results

Following the completion of the monitoring period, the recordings are transmitted to interpreting specialists for analysis and reporting. The report is provided to the requesting physician usually within 5-10 days from the end of the monitoring period.

Understanding the Report

You will receive a detailed visual report showing:

  • Thresholds for hypertension diagnosis based on ABPM
  • Technical details including the average values of readings
  • Graphs and bar charts of SBP and DBP over 24-hours
  • Interpretation of readings in visual display showing high, acceptable and normal ranges.
Request a medical consult

We have a wealth of medical experts available to support you in interpreting test results. Consults with our experts are available upon request. Request medical consultation.

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