title: The relationship between the acute changes of the systolic blood pressure and the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is a useful parameter to assess arterial stiffness. However, it is difficult to evaluate arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients because the baPWV is affected by the blood pressure itself. This study was designed to estimate the relationship between the change of the blood pressure parameters and the baPWV (deltabaPWV) when hypertensive patients were subjected to an acute reduction of blood pressure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients with essential hypertension and whose blood pressure was higher than 140/90 mmHg were enrolled. In all the patients, the blood pressure and baPWV were measured using an automatic waveform analyzer with the patients at a resting state. When the reduction of blood pressure was more than 10 mmHg after sublingual administration of nifedipine 10 mg, then the blood pressure and baPWV were measured again in the same manner and then they were compared with the baseline values. Spearman's correlation and multiple linear regression tests were performed to estimate the relationship between the change of the blood pressure parameters (deltaSBP, deltaDBP, deltaMAP and deltaPP) and the deltabaPWV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The baPWV was significantly decreased shortly after the administration of nifedipine (1903.6+/-305.2 cm/sec vs. 1716+/-252.0 cm/sec, respectively, p<0.01). The deltabaPWV was correlated with the deltaSBP (r=0.550, p<0.01), deltaDBP (r=0.386, p<0.05), deltaMAP (r=0.441, p<0.05), and deltaPP (r=0.442. p<0.05). On the multiple regression analysis, the deltaSBP was the only significant variable for predicting the deltabaPWV, and the linear equation was deltabaPWV=8.7xSBP-48.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The baPWV is affected by the systolic blood pressure level to a large degree and careful attention must be paid to the blood pressure level when evaluating arterial stiffness with using the baPWV.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hun-Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tai-Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Rho
authors.forename: Chan Seok
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Woo-Seung
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Yong-Seog
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Man-Young
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun-Ju
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ki-Bae
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Seung
authors.forename: Jae-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyu-Bo
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000286:Administration, Sublingual; D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011674:Pulse; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D009543:Nifedipine