Age-related characteristics of ambulatory blood pressure load and mean blood pressure in normotensive subjects

Abstract

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring has become increasingly popular for diagnosing and treating hypertension. However, data from normotensive subjects are needed for interpretation of hypertensive readings. Ambulatory blood pressure was monitored in 126 normotensive subjects (age range, 20 to 84 years). Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and blood pressure loads (percentage of systolic readings greater than 140 mm Hg and diastolic readings greater than 90 mm Hg) were obtained and interpreted. Mean awake systolic and diastolic pressures ranged from 125 +/- 10 to 137 +/- 17 mm Hg and 70 +/- 8 to 71 +/- 9 mm Hg, respectively. The systolic and diastolic trends of subjects' blood pressures taken during office visits and the 24-hour measurements were similar. Ranges for systolic and diastolic blood pressure loads from youngest to oldest ages were 9% +/- 14% to 25% +/- 20% and 3% +/- 7% to 4% +/- 7%, respectively. A comparison of blood pressure means from our sample that were taken during office visits and blood pressure means from a 2122-patient community survey demonstrated that our sample was reflective of an unselected population.

Cardiovascular effects of melatonin in hypertensive patients well controlled by nifedipine: a 24‐hour study

“…However this preliminary study has clinical implications. Even if the clinic BP and HR increase observed while taking melatonin are not statistically significant, the BP load, defined as the percentage of abnormal BP readings recorded by ABPM (SBP > 140 mmHg and DBP > 90 mmHg) in a 24 h period [43, 44], was significantly increased by melatonin. In hypertension chronic overload induces myocardial and vascular damage and there are data to support the view that BP load is a better determinant of cardiac and vascular abnormalities than casual BP values [45, 46].…”

The International Database of Ambulatory blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDACO): protocol and research perspectives

“…The variability in the ambulatory blood pressure will be modeled, using the 24-h, daytime and nighttime withinpatient standard deviations, the average real variability [22], the day-to-night blood-pressure ratio [9], the dayto-night blood-pressure difference [9], the blood-pressure load [23], the runs-test [24], Fourier analysis [24], cumulative sums [25], square wave modeling [21,26], the morning surge in blood pressure [27,28], and the time rate of variability [29]. Measures of blood-pressure variability will always be analyzed, when accounting or standardizing for the blood pressure level.…”

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in pediatric renal transplantation

“…BP load also has been used to evaluate hypertension. BP load was first introduced by Zachaiah et al (23). In adults, BP load is defined as a proportion of SBP >140 mmHg and DBP >90 mmHg.…”