Masked Hypertension: Lessons for the Future

Masked hypertension (MH) is a commonly overlooked phenotype of hypertension in practice. Lifestyle factors and conditioned stress response specific to out of clinic blood pressure readings may be the mechanisms leading to this phenomenon. 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring or home blood pressure monitoring in an out of office setting are required for its reliable diagnosis. MH has a high risk of progressing to sustained hypertension with comparable cardiovascular and mortality risk. In this review, we discuss current evidence-based perspectives on definition, pathological mechanisms, risk factors, screening, clinical implications, and treatment of MH.