Central Aortic Blood Pressure as an Indica tor of Prognosis: An Asian Perspective

Abstract

Brachial cuff sphygmomanometer remains the major method by which blood pressure (BP) is assessed clinically. However, this is a poor surrogate for central aortic BP. There is increasing evidence that central aortic BP can act as a marker of cardiovascular (CV) and peripheral vascular disease burden and that central pressures may be able to predict CV events and mortality. This, in turn, could have implications for the development and application of future pharmacological therapies. This review article examines the evidence surrounding the above and its controversies. It concludes that while central BP is an exciting new frontier, more research is required for central BP to become commonplace in clinical medicine.