[Problems of insufficient control of target blood pressure levels in the outpatient practice].

AIM: Assessment of the frequency of reaching the target level of blood pressure (BP) and the factors affecting it in outpatients with arterial hypertension (AH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An open, one-stage, comparative study involving 64 patients with hypertension and 47 without hypertension at the age of 40 to 59 years. All patients underwent physical examination, assessment of cardiovascular risk (CVR), 24-hour blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), echocardiography (ECHOCG), color duplex scanning of brachiocephalic arteries. RESULTS: Patients with hypertension and comparison groups were comparable in age, sex, smoking, history of myocardial infarction. 1st degree of hypertension was present in 26.6%, 2nd in 40.6%, 3rd in 12.5% of patients. Obesity was detected in 24.3% of patients and all patients with obesity had AH. The SCORE score in individuals with hypertension was 4.94.5; in the comparison group, 2.32.6 (p0.001). Non-stenosing atherosclerosis was present in 54.8% and 88%, p=0.020, and atherosclerotic plaque in the vascular lumen was present in 45.3% and 12% of patients with and without hypertension, respectively (p0.001). 68.8% were constantly treated, and the target BP was reached in 31.3% of patients with hypertension. Male gender (OR 1.68; 95% CI 1.6828.49; p=0.007), obesity (OR 4.78; 95% CI 1.1420.29; p=0.033), concomitant pathology (OR 3.09; 95% CI 1.029.37; p=0.046) were negative, and dyslipidemia (OR 0.10; 95% CI 0.010.84; p=0.033) was positive, affecting the achievement of the target level of blood pressure. CONCLUSION: The target level of blood pressure was achieved in 31.3% of outpatients with hypertension, mainly in women. Among patients who did not reach the target level of blood pressure, men, individuals with high SSR and obesity predominated. Concomitant pathology and obesity are negative, and dyslipidemia was positively associated with the achievement of the target level of blood pressure, which must be taken into account when developing measures for prevention and treatment.

Association between nondipping pattern and EndoPAT signal in patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE: To compare vascular endothelial function between dipping (D) and nondipping (ND) patterns in patients with and without mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using EndoPAT, a test of reactive hyperemia used to assess peripheral vascular endothelial function. METHODS: The sample consisted of individuals of both genders between 18 and 65 years of age with a body mass index (BMI) of ≤35 kg/m2 and apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) of ≤15. The nondipping pattern was considered present when the dip of nocturnal blood pressure (NBP) was <10%. All of the sample underwent clinical and physical evaluation, full polysomnography, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and EndoPAT evaluation. A generalized linear model was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The sample comprised 120 individuals, 35 in the control group and 85 in the mild OSA group. Four groups were formed: Control-ND, Control-D, Mild OSA-ND, and Mild OSA-D according to nocturnal ABPM patterns. The frequency of nondipping was (34.1%) in the Mild OSA group and (17.1%) in the Control group (p = 0.07). The Mild OSA-ND group had a higher augmentation index (AIx) than the Mild OSA-D group. Regression analysis showed that male gender, higher age, and nondipping status were associated with these results, whereas oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and AHI did not. With respect to the reactive hyperemia index (RHI), the Mild OSA-D group had lower values compared to the Control-ND group, but an association with OSA was not confirmed in the regression model. CONCLUSION: Nondipping status was associated with a worse augmentation index in both groups independently of AHI or oxygen desaturation index. Male gender, higher age, and nondipping status were associated with augmentation index. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01461486.

The importance of pulse pressure on cardiovascular risk and total mortality in the general population: Is sex relevant?

The aim of the present study is to investigate the predictive value of pulse pressure (PP) on cardiovascular events in the general population and in both sexes, separately. The study involved 2045 participants from the PAMELA study who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring. The participants were followed from the initial medical visit for a time interval of 137 ± 23 months. It was found that office, home, and 24-hour blood pressures were significantly higher in the individuals who experienced cardiovascular (CV) events. Office, 24-hour, and daytime PP were independent predictors of CV events after adjustment for main demographic and clinical parameters in the whole study population. Nighttime PP was an additional independent predictor in men. In conclusion, PP represents an important predictor of cardiovascular events in the general population, particularly among men. Daytime and 24-hour PP have greater predictive importance than nighttime PP in the general population.

Papel de la espironolactona en el tratamiento de la hipertensión arterial resistente / Role of spironolactone in the treatment of resistant hypertension

Resumen Este artículo aporta herramientas útiles para el diagnóstico y el diagnóstico diferencial de la hipertensión arterial resistente. En él, se refieren las recomendaciones de las principales guías internacionales de tratamiento respecto de las cifras meta de presión arterial, la incapacidad o falla del tratamiento triple en un amplio porcentaje de pacientes y los factores para la elección racional del cuarto agente para la institución de un tratamiento cuádruple. Esta elección se basa en la capacidad de la espironolactona -antagonista de los receptores de aldosterona- para inhibir los efectos nocivos de la aldosterona que dificultan el control de la presión arterial e incrementan el riesgo cardiovascular en un alto porcentaje de pacientes.

Abstract This article provides useful tools for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of resistant hypertension. Here, we refer the recommendations of the main international guidelines of management respect to the target goals of the blood pressure, the failure of triple therapy in a large percentage of patients and the factors for the rational choice of the fourth agent for the institution of a quadruple therapy. This choice is based on the ability of spironolactone, antagonist of aldosterone receptors, to inhibit the deleterious effects of aldosterone that difficult the control of blood pressure and increase the cardiovascular risk in a high percentage of patients.

[Efficacy of Antihypertensive Therapy Combined With Psychotropic Drugs in Patients With Hypertension and Affective Disorders].

AIM: To compare effects of isolated antihypertensive therapy (AHT) and AHT combined with anxiolytic and antidepressant on parameters of 24­hour blood pressure (BP) profile, severity of affective disorders, and quality of life (QL) in patients with uncontrolled arterial hypertension (AH) and anxiety or depressive disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We randomized 140 patients (age 48.6±5.9 year, 72 women) into 2 groups. During 1 year patients of each group received 2 variants of pharmacotherapy: isolated AHT and AHT combined with psychotropic medication (PM) - anxiolytic for persons with anxiety disorder and antidepressant for persons with depressive disorder (AHT+PM). Patients of group I received AHT for first 6 months and AHT+PM for remaining 6 months. Group II patients started with AHT+PM and after 6 months switched to AHT. In each group we selected subgroups of patients with prevailing anxiety (I­A, II­A) and prevailing depression (I-D, II-D). In the end of each 6 months period we compared parameters of 24­hour BP monitoring, severity of affective disorders, and QL in subgroups IA vs. II­A and ID vs. IID. Same comparisons were done for each subgroup in the end of the first and second stages of treatment. RESULTS: Starting with combination AHT provided more rapid achievement of low values of average diurnal and nocturnal systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP, lower parameters of BP variability. In patients with comorbid depression it led to lowering of magnitude and velocity of morning increment of SBP and DBP. Only combination AHT demonstrated adequate reduction of affective disorders. Both combination and isolated AHT in 6 months resulted in significant improvement of QL, however combination AHT provided significantly better estimates of QL. CONCLUSION: In patients with AH and anxiety or depressive disorders effectiveness of AHT combined with anxiolytic or antidepressant was higher compared with isolated AHT.

Relationship Between Nocturnal Dip, Carotid Artery Blood Flow, Brain Ischemic Change in Open Angle Glaucoma

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of nocturnal dip, carotid artery blood flow, and brain ischemic change on the progression of glaucomatous visual field defect in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) when IOP is less than the target pressure. METHODS: We classified OAG patients (74 patients, 148 eyes) who maintained IOP less than the target pressure as normal tension glaucoma (NTG; 52 patients, 104 eyes) or primary OAG (POAG; 22 patients, 44 eyes). Additionally, we performed 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (24-hr ABPM), carotid artery color Doppler U/S (CAD), brain MRI, and visual field (V/F) tests on the patients. Nocturnal dips less than 10% were classified as non-dippers, and dips greater than 10% as dippers. The relationships among nocturnal dip, carotid artery blood flow, brain ischemic change, and progression of glaucomatous V/F defect were examined. RESULTS: In the case of dippers, glaucomatous V/F defects were aggravated, with a relative risk of approximately 1.74 (NTG) and 2.91 (POAG) times that of non-dippers. In NTG, decreased carotid artery blood flow and brain ischemic change furthered glaucomatous V/F defects, with a relative risk of approximately 2.40 and 2.54 times that of normal carotid artery blood flow and brain MRI findings, respectively. However, in POAG, decreased carotid artery blood flow and brain ischemic change were not influenced by the progression of glaucomatous V/F defects. CONCLUSIONS: In dippers, decreased carotid artery blood flow and brain ischemic change caused a progression of glaucomatous V/F defects in NTG and POAG patients. Thus, performing 24-hr ABPM, CAD, and brain MRI should be helpful for glaucoma patients with progression of glaucomatous V/F defects even when the IOP is less than the target pressure. In addition, this analysis provides useful information regarding glaucoma diagnosis and treatment.

Validation of the BPLab(®) 24-hour blood pressure monitoring system according to the European standard BS EN 1060-4:2004 and British Hypertension Society protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Automatic blood pressure (BP) measuring devices are more and more often used in BP self-checks and in 24-hour BP monitoring. Nowadays, 24-hour BP monitoring is a necessary procedure in arterial hypertension treatment. The aim of this study was to validate the BPLab(®) ambulatory blood pressure monitor according to the European standard BS EN 1060-4:2004 and the British Hypertension Society (BHS) protocol, as well as to work out solutions regarding the suitability of using this device in clinical practice. METHODS: A group of 85 patients of both sexes and different ages, who voluntarily agreed to take part in the tests and were given detailed instructions on the measurement technique were recruited for this study. The results of the BP measurement obtained by a qualified operator using the BPLab(®) device were compared with the BP values measured using the Korotkov auscultatory method. Data were obtained simultaneously by two experts with experience of over 10 years and had completed a noninvasive BP measurement standardization training course. Discrepancies in the systolic and diastolic BP measurements (N = 510; 255 for each expert) were analyzed according to the criteria specified in the BHS-93 protocol. RESULTS: The device passed the requirements of the European Standard BS EN 1060-4:2004 and was graded 'A' according to the criteria of the BHS protocol for both systolic BP and diastolic BP. CONCLUSION: The BPLab(®) 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring device may be recommended for extensive clinical use.

Correlation Between Nocturnal Dip and Progression of Glaucoma

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of nocturnal dip influence on the progression of glaucomatous visual field defect. METHODS: We performed 24hr ABPM and V/F tests on patients diagnosed with NTG (140 patients, 280 eyes) and POAG (84 patients, 168 eyes). Nocturnal dips below 10% were classified as non-dippers, and those above 10% were noted as dippers. The correlations among nocturnal dip, progression of glaucomatous visual field defect, and hypertension treatment were examined. RESULTS: In NTG, dippers in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure furthered glaucomatous visual field defects, with a relative risk of approximately three times that of non-dippers. Hypertension treatment was not influenced by the progression of glaucomatous visual field defect but was influenced by dips in the systolic and diastolic pressures in NTG and in diastolic pressure in POAG. Nocturnal dips were more frequent in the group with progression of the visual field compared to those in the group with non-progression of the visual field in NTG. CONCLUSIONS: Dipper caused a progression of glaucomatous visual field defects in NTG and was influenced by hypertension treatment in NTG and POAG. Performing 24hr ABPM should be helpful for glaucoma patients with progression of a glaucomatous visual field defect even when the IOP is less than the target pressure. In addition, hypertension treatment should be considered an important factor in the treatment of glaucoma.