Key Points
- To determine the influence of ambulatory blood pressure levels, blood pressure variability, pulse pressure, and heart rate on carotid artery distension capacity in patients with essential hypertension.
- Assessed 51 subjects with essential hypertension using daytime ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
- Measured common carotid artery distension capacity noninvasively using high-resolution echo-tracking techniques.
- Performed bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses adjusting for subject age.
- Carotid distension capacity correlated negatively with baseline diastolic blood pressure (r = -0.44, P < .001) and mean heart rate (r = -0.28, P < .05).
- Carotid distension capacity correlated positively with pulse pressure (r = 0.32, P = .024) and diastolic blood pressure variability (r = 0.37, P = .008).
- Multiple regression analysis confirmed that mean diastolic pressure, diastolic variability, pulse pressure, and heart rate independently influenced carotid artery distension after adjusting for age.
Structured PICO
Do ambulatory blood pressure parameters and heart rate influence the distension capacity of the carotid artery in patients with essential hypertension?
PPopulation51 subjects with essential hypertension
IInterventionAmbulatory blood pressure monitoring (assessing baseline diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, variability of diastolic blood pressure, and mean heart rate)
OOutcomeDistension capacity of the common carotid artery (pulsatile change in diameter) measured noninvasively by high-resolution echo-tracking techniquessurrogate
In patients with essential hypertension, carotid artery distension is independently influenced by pulse pressure, heart rate, and blood pressure variability, in addition to absolute blood pressure levels.