[Blood pressure in young men with a family history of primary hypertension--traditional and 24-hour blood pressure measurements].
Blood pressure was measured in two groups of young males-group S-55 men with positive family history of essential hypertension (EH) and group K-11 men with negative family history of EH (mean age 24.5 +/- 3.3 and 23.5 +/- 4.7 years). Two methods of blood pressure measurement--traditional blood pressure measurement (method A) and automatic ambulatory indirect blood pressure monitoring (method B) were used. Blood pressure was higher in group S than in group K-method A 140 +/- 14/86 +/- 10 vs 122 +/- 10/73 +/- 8 mm Hg; method B: 132 +/- 11/78 +/- 10 vs 123 +/- 8/72 +/- 7 mm Hg. Contrary to group K, in group S discrepancies in the frequency of diagnosis of systolic or diastolic hypertension were found between the two methods of blood pressure measurement. These results indicate that in young males the traditional method of blood pressure measurement may provide a false positive diagnosis of hypertension, but both methods of blood pressure measurement used in this work were effective in the diagnosis of normotension. As a population the young males with positive family history of EH have higher blood pressure then young males with negative family history of EH.