Blood pressure reduction and control are associated with reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. There is evidence that ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) results more accurately reflect the risk of cardiovascular events than do office measurements of blood pressure. New international guidelines recognize the importance of ABPM which has an important and growing role in the diagnosis and in guiding antihypertensive therapy. In 2011 in the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that ABPM be performed on all patients with suspected hypertension to confirm the diagnosis and reduce unnecessary treatment in people who do not have true hypertension. The aim of this observational study is to describe the utility of ABPM generally and specifically in the management of hypertension by Cardiologists in the Algerian context.

The primary Objective of this study is to assess the benefit of the ABPM in the diagnosis and management of arterial hypertension in by Cardiologists.

The Secondary Objectives are:

• To identify the conditions of usage of ABPM for the diagnosis of arterial hypertension,
• To evaluate the blood pressure during the ABPM assessment and at 6 weeks of follow up
• To describe the study population (socio-demography),
• To describe the therapeutic stratégies and the compliance to treatment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are either hypertensive (defined as those with a clinic SBP ≥ 140 mmHg or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg [7]) or referred for the assessment of hypertension
• Informed consent obtained before any study-related activity

Exclusion Criteria:

• ABPM contraindication
• Patient with psychiatric disorder
• Patient not able to comply with study-related procedures based on clinical judgement of the investigator

In this observational study the target population will be constituted of patients who can benefit from the contribution of ABPM to confirm or refute (white coat effect) hypertension.