Clinical study to investigate the predictive parameters for the onset of atrial fibrillation in patients with essential hypertension.

BACKGROUND: The risk factors involved in the onset of atrial fibrillation (AF) are well known, but the predictive clinical and paraclinical parameters for the onset of AF in hypertensive patients have not been investigated specifically. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed 97 consecutive patients with hypertension and no known history of AF or cardiovascular events who attended the cardiology outpatient clinic. The analysis was based on clinical data, the noninvasive ambulatory 24-hour measurement of blood pressure (AMBP), a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram, and a Doppler echocardiogram. After a mean follow-up of 25 +/- 3 months, 19 (19. 5%) patients had AF, 3 (15.8%) of whom had a cerebrovascular accident. The patients with AF were older than the others and their AMBP showed higher mean systolic diurnal and nocturnal blood pressures, though no differences in the clinical blood pressure readings were present. On the electrocardiogram, the maximum duration of the P wave and its dispersion were more prolonged in the patients with AF. On the Doppler echocardiogram, left ventricular mass and left atrial dimension were higher in the patients with AF, and the A-wave velocity of diastolic mitral flow was reduced in these patients. In the multivariate analysis, age (odds ratio 3.28, P <.001), diurnal systolic blood pressure (odds ratio 1.35, P <.01) and nocturnal systolic blood pressure (odds ratio 1.16, P <.01), maximum duration of the P wave (odds ratio 2.09, P <.01), dispersion of the P wave (odds ratio 2.52, P <.001), echocardiographic left ventricular mass (odds ratio 1.43, P <.01), left atrial dimension (odds ratio 2.81, P <.001), and velocity of the A wave (odds ratio 2. 24, P <.01) were independent predictors for the onset of AF. After correction for age, maximum duration of the P wave (odds ratio 1.34, P <.01), dispersion of the P wave (odds ratio 1.63, P <.001), and the velocity of the A wave (odds ratio 1.42, P <.01) remained independent predictors for the onset of AF. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with hypertension, age and the level of diurnal and nocturnal systolic blood pressures measured by 24-hour AMBP are important independent predictors for the onset of AF. Independent of age, increases in left atrial dimension and left ventricular mass, prolongation of the maximum duration and dispersion of the P wave and reduced A-wave velocity are also predictors for the onset of AF.

[Clinical value of measuring systolic arterial blood pressure post-exercise for evaluation and diagnosis of coronary disease: comparative study between women and men]. / Intérêt clinique de la mesure de la pression artérielle systolique dans le post-effort pour l'évaluation et le diagnostic de la maladie coronarienne: étude comparative entre femmes et hommes.

It has been demonstrated that the ratio of the systolic blood pressure post-exercise to that at peak exercise (rSBP) is a criterion for diagnosis and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in men. No such demonstration has been attempted in women. We have compared SBP to classical signs of ischemia, such as ST segment depression and angina pectoris, in a group of 788 ambulatory patients of whom 357 were women. All underwent a bicycle ergometric test and a coronary angiogram. The prevalence of CAD at angiography was the same for both genders (women 43.5% and men 47%) with no significant difference in the number of vessels diseased. In patients with CAD, the rSBP was significantly more elevated than in others, at 1 minute (p < 0.01) and even more so at 3 minutes (p < 0.001) post-exercise, with no gender difference. The most discriminating value of rSBP at 3 minutes post-exercise for diagnosis of CAD was situated at 0.91 for sensitivity and specificity (receiver operating characteristic curve analysis). In the whole group sensitivity of rSBP is lower, while the specificity is greater than classical criteria of ischemia. The sensitivity of rSBP is poor for the diagnosis of single vessel disease, but of equal value compared to ST segment depression in the presence of multivessel disease, with no gender difference. The specificity of rSBP is higher than ST segment depression in women (p < 0.001) compared to men (p < 0.05). rSBP has a positive correlation with the number of coronary vessels diseased but not with the extent of ST segment depression. Our study demonstrates that rSBP at 3 minutes post-exercise is a less good diagnostic sign than the classical criteria of myocardial ischemia. However, rSBP has good specificity, particularly in women, thus reducing false positive tests related to ST segment depression. rSBP is also a marker of the severity of coronary artery disease.