Nailfold Microvascular Abnormalities Are Associated with the Standardized In-Hospital Blood-Pressure Phenotype and Carotid Wall Thickness in Treated Hypertension: An Integrated Vascular Phenotyping Study

Figures

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  Figure 1. Relationship between composite nailfold microvascular abnormality burden and mean carotid intima–media thickness. Points represent individual participants; the fitted line is shown for visualization. The inferential association is summarized using Spearman rank correlation (ρ = 0.536, p < 0.001).

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  Figure 2. Integrated vascular phenotype: Spearman correlation matrix. Values are Spearman rho coefficients. Asterisks denote statistical significance based on the underlying two-sided tests (** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001). cIMT, carotid intima–media thickness; FMD, flow-mediated dilation; MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment; PWV, pulse wave velocity; RHI, reactive hyperemia index; UACR, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio.

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  Figure 3. Distribution of composite microvascular score across clinically relevant phenotypes. (A) Controlled versus uncontrolled standardized in-hospital BP phenotype. (B) cIMT < 0.90 versus ≥0.90 mm. Boxplots show median and interquartile range with individual observations overlaid; p values derive from Mann–Whitney U tests. Blue indicates the controlled/lower-cIMT groups, pink indicates the uncontrolled/higher-cIMT groups, and gray dots represent individual participants.

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  Figure 4. Multivariable association models. (A) Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the uncontrolled standardized in-hospital BP phenotype. (B) Adjusted regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals for mean cIMT in the primary robust linear model. Blue markers indicate estimates from the logistic regression model for the uncontrolled BP phenotype, whereas red markers indicate estimates from the robust linear regression model for mean cIMT; horizontal lines represent 95% confidence intervals. The microvascular-score estimates are annotated. cIMT, carotid intima-media thickness; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HTN, hypertension; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.