title: Ambulatory blood pressure variability and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in untreated hypertensive patients.
abstract: Blood pressure (BP) variability is estimated as the standard deviation of 24-h ambulatory BP. The present study was performed to determine the effect of the mean 24-h ambulatory BP values and standard deviations on arterial wall stiffness assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and 24-h ambulatory BP were measured before the start of antihypertensive therapy in 203 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients (53.3+/-0.7 years old; clinic systolic/diastolic BP: 154+/-1/98+/-1 mm Hg), and univariate and multivariate regression analyses of these clinical and biological parameters were performed. Univariate regression analyses revealed a significant association between mean baPWV values and the standard deviations of ambulatory systolic/diastolic BP. Mean ambulatory systolic/diastolic BP values were also associated with UAE, and the standard deviations of ambulatory systolic BP were associated with maximum carotid IMT. Quintile analyses showed that patients with a mean 24-h ambulatory mean BP value and standard deviation below 110 and 20 mm Hg, respectively, had the lowest baPWV. Moreover, the multivariate regression analyses confirmed a significant correlation between baPWV and the standard deviation of 24-h ambulatory systolic BP. In conclusion, untreated hypertensive patients with a higher 24-h ambulatory systolic BP variability had stiffer arterial walls. Ambulatory systolic BP variability may be involved in stiffening of the arteries of hypertensive patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. atzichi@sc.itc.keio.ac.jp
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ichihara
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaneshiro
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takemitsu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakoda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000842:Ankle / Q000098:blood supply*; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000502:physiology