title: Hypertension and arterial stiffness in heart transplantation patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Post-transplantation hypertension is prevalent and is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and subsequent graft dysfunction. The present study aimed to identify the factors associated with arterial stiffness as measured by the ambulatory arterial stiffness index.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study used a prospective, observational, analytical design to evaluate a group of adult heart transplantation patients. Arterial stiffness was obtained by monitoring ambulatory blood pressure and using the ambulatory arterial stiffness index as the surrogate outcome. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to control confounding.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a group of 85 adult heart transplantation patients, hypertension was independently associated with arterial stiffness (OR 4.98, CI 95% 1.06-23.4) as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure averages and nighttime descent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurement of ambulatory arterial stiffness index is a new, non-invasive method that is easy to perform, may contribute to better defining arterial stiffness prognosis and is associated with hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Messejana Dr. Carlos Alberto Studart Gomes, Unidade de Transplante e Insuficiência Cardíaca, Fortaleza/CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: João David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: de Souza-Neto
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Messejana Dr. Carlos Alberto Studart Gomes, Unidade de Transplante e Insuficiência Cardíaca, Fortaleza/CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ĺtalo Martins
authors.initials: ĹM
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Fortaleza/CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hermano Alexandre
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Lima-Rocha
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Fortaleza/CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Wellington
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Oliveira-Lima
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo USP, Departamento de Cardiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bacal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*