Cardiovascular risk in patients receiving double therapy with false and true nonresponder hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients receiving double therapy with false and true nonresponder hypertension.


METHODS
The occurrence of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events was evaluated in 730 patients receiving double therapy with uncontrolled clinic blood pressure. Two hundred and seventy had false nonresponder hypertension (clinic blood pressure > or =140 or 90 mmHg and daytime blood pressure <135/85 mmHg) and 460 had true nonresponder hypertension (clinic blood pressure > or =140 or 90 mmHg and daytime blood pressure > or =135 or 85 mmHg).


RESULTS
During the follow-up (4.77+/-2.9 years, range 0.2-11.7 years), 55 cardiovascular events occurred. The event rates per 100 patient-years in patients with false and true nonresponder hypertension were 1.03 and 1.9, respectively. Event-free survival was significantly different between the groups (P<0.05). After adjustment for several covariates, including clinic blood pressure (forced into the model), Cox regression analysis showed that cardiovascular risk was significantly higher in true than in false nonresponder hypertension (relative risk 2.33, 95% confidence interval 1.14-4.77, P=0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that, among treated hypertensive patients receiving double therapy with uncontrolled clinic blood pressure those with true nonresponder hypertension are at higher cardiovascular risk. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring should be performed in this population to achieve a better prognostic stratification.
Pierdomenico
Sante D
SD
Department of Medicine and Aging Science, University Gabriele d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy. pierdomenico@unich.it
Lapenna
Domenico
D
Di Tommaso
Roberta
R
Di Carlo
Silvio
S
Esposito
Anna L
AL
Di Mascio
Rocco
R
Ballone
Enzo
E
Cuccurullo
Franco
F
Mezzetti
Andrea
A
D000368:Aged; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome