Permanent atrial fibrillation in hypertensive patients was associated with a higher rate of unevaluable ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings compared to sinus rhythm (21.6% vs 7.9%).
Observational (n=355)
Does permanent atrial fibrillation affect the evaluability and diurnal patterns of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in hypertensive patients compared to sinus rhythm?
Permanent atrial fibrillation significantly reduces the evaluability of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings compared to sinus rhythm.
Absolute Event Rate: 21.6% vs 7.9%
Objective: The prevalence of arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation increases with age, and therefore ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is increasingly being performed in patients with this arrhythmia. Aim of our study was to compare ABPM results between a group of patients with sinus rhythm (SR) and a group of patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF). To evaluate not only absolute blood pressure parameters, but also blood pressure variability with determination of the diurnal index. Design and method: We retrospectively analyzed 355 consecutively enrolled patients with arterial hypertension (163 men, 192 women), of whom 37 had permanent atrial fibrillation (10.4%). The average age in the sinus rhythm group was 56.2 years, in the atrial fibrillation group 74.8 years. ABPM was performed with Meditech 04 devices (Hungary) with a 24-hour examination duration. Results: In 33 cases, ABPM recording parameters were not evaluable due to a small number of measurements or night waking. In the SR group, 25 recordings were unevaluable (7.9%), in the AF group there were 8 (21.6%). In the SR group, dipping, i.e. a physiological decrease in nighttime blood pressure values, was present in 155 persons (52.9%), in the AF group in 15 persons (51.7%). Reverse dipping was present in 33 subjects (11.3%) in the SR group, in 4 subjects (13.8%) in the AF group, and extreme dipping in 11 subjects (3.8%) in the SR group and in 2 subjects (6.9%) in the AF group. Conclusions: Our results from clinical practice document that permanent atrial fibrillation affects the quality of the ABPM recording and thus the possibility of its evaluation. The group of patients with atrial fibrillation was significantly older and had more often a diurnal rhythm disorder, which is a prognostically significant risk factor for cardiovascular complications.
Gašpar et al. (Fri,) conducted a observational in Arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation (n=355). Permanent atrial fibrillation vs. Sinus rhythm was evaluated on Unevaluable ABPM recordings. Permanent atrial fibrillation in hypertensive patients was associated with a higher rate of unevaluable ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings compared to sinus rhythm (21.6% vs 7.9%).