September 9, 2009Circulation131 citationsOpen Access
View Full PaperBaseline Values but Not Treatment-Induced Changes in Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Predict Incident Cardiovascular Events in Treated Hypertensive Patients
Structured PICO
Do baseline values and treatment-induced changes in carotid intima-media thickness predict incident cardiovascular events in treated hypertensive patients?
P
Population
Treated hypertensive patients
I
Intervention
Baseline carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and treatment-induced IMT changes
O
Outcome
Incident cardiovascular eventshard clinical
Baseline carotid intima-media thickness and plaques, but not treatment-induced changes, independently predict incident cardiovascular events in treated hypertensive patients.
Abstract
ELSA shows that carotid intima-media thickening and plaques are important added risks of cardiovascular outcomes in a treated hypertensive population independently of blood pressure and traditional risk factors. However, the analysis failed to show a predictive role of treatment-dependent IMT changes. These negative conclusions should be tempered by the limitations inherent in the smallness of these changes compared with the large individual differences in baseline IMTs.
Cite This Study
Zanchetti et al. (Wed,) studied this question.