How Arterial Stiffness is Related to Ambulatory BP Monitoring?

High blood pressure can be controlled successfully regardless of aortic stiffness among hypertensive dialysis patients according to a recent study: Aortic stiffness, ambulatory blood pressure and predictors of response to anthypertensive therapy in hemodialysis - Panagiotis I. Georgianos MD, Rajiv Agarwal MD, March 26, 2015.

What is arterial stiffness? arterial stiffness & ambulatory bp

Increased arterial stiffness is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction or stroke.

How arterial stiffness is related to blood pressure?

The stiffer the blood vessel walls are, the higher the blood pressure is, the more the heart has to work to deliver blood to the body.

How arterial stiffness is measured?

- augmentation index (through the shape of the pulse wave)
- central blood pressure (through the pressure in the aorta)
- pulse wave velocity (estimated by measuring the rate at which pressure waves move down the vessel)

Study background

The study investigated if aortic stiffness determines ambulatory blood pressure among hypertensive dialysis patients.

Participants

179 hypertensive, predominantly black, hemodialysis patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, which is the thickening of the heart's main pumping chamber, which deveops in response to some factors, such as high blood pressure.

Conclusions

Hypertension can be controlled successfully regardless of aortic stiffness, as aortic pulse wave velocity could not be established as a predictor of treatment-induced change in ambulatory blood pressure.

Meditech is one of the worldwide technology leaders in the area of manufacturing ambulatory blood pressure monitors and ECG devices. Established in 1990 by Hungarian private entrepreneurs, Meditech develops medical devices and software solutions for monitoring risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.

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