title: [Impact of visit-to-visit blood pressure variability on vascular function in elderly hypertensive patients].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) and vascular endothelial function in a cohort of elderly hypertensive patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 174 elderly patients with essential hypertension were included in the study. The participants had their office BP measured during the 12-month follow-up. Right brachial artery diameter was assessed at rest, during reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated dilation, FMD), and after nitroglycerin administration (nitroglycerin-mediated dilation, NMD). The participants were divided into two groups according to FMD% or FMD/NMD ratio. The correlations between BPV and endothelial function were analyzed by univariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants classified as having a decreased endothelial function according to FMD/NMD ratio had significantly lower FMD% and higher BPV and NMD% (P<0.05). The percentage of CCBs use in normal endothelial function group was significantly higher than that in decreased endothelial function group (79.55% vs 63.95%, P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant negative association between FMD/NMD ratio and BPV, and this association remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index, and mean BP levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FMD/NMD ratio is a better marker of endothelial function than FMD, and an increased visit-to-visit variability of BP is associated with a decreased endothelial function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University/Shenzhen People's Hospital, Guangdong Province, Shenzhen 518020, China.E-mail: qyliu7@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Qiyun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Junli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jianghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shaohong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001916:Brachial Artery; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000075222:Essential Hypertension; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D005996:Nitroglycerin; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014664:Vasodilation
chemical_list: D005996:Nitroglycerin