Morning high blood pressure
Morning high blood pressure, or morning hypertension, means an exaggerated rise in blood pressure during the morning to early forenoon hours, up to around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m.
In the early morning the blood pressure starts to rise even before you wake up, preparing the body for the change from lying down to standing. The steepest rise occurs when getting up and continues into the early morning hours.
This morning rise in blood pressure is a normal event that everyone experiences whether they have normal or elevated blood pressure.
For people with hypertension (high blood pressure), however, this rise can reach dangerous levels because it occurs from a higher baseline.
This danger is reflected by the higher incidence of heart attacks, sudden cardiac death, and strokes in the morning hours, peaking at about 9:00 a.m. The morning blood pressure surge is thought to play a causal role.
To prevent such events, an excessive morning blood pressure rise must be avoided, which is now a defined treatment goal.If morning high blood pressure is detected, it is usually addressed by adjusting medication.
There are blood pressure monitors on the market that are specifically designed to detect morning hypertension.
BloodPressureDB provides a chart of blood pressure readings by time of day in its PDF report. This also clearly shows the blood pressure pattern.
Source:
- Martin Middeke, Blood Pressure Institute Munich, https://www.blutdruckinstitut.de/post/chronopathologie-der-hyperonie-und-antihypertensive-chronotherapie
This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 11/2025).
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.
