Features of the Daily Profile of Arterial Blood Pressure in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Combination With Arterial Hypertension

Abstract

The aim: To determine the features of daily shifts in blood pressure (BP), the influence of the presence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on BP control and identify factors that affect BP among patients with RA in combination with resistant hypertension (RH). Materials and methods: All material for writing this scientific work were the results of a comprehensive survey of 201 people with RH and RA, hypertension (H) and RA, RA without H, H without RA and relatively healthy individuals. A laboratory study was performed: rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein (CRP), K+ serum, and creatinine levels. All patients underwent office BP measurement and ambulatory BP monitoring for 24 hours. Statistical processing of the study results was carried out using “IBM SPSS Statistics 22”. Results: Among patients with RA in combination with RH non-dippers (38.7%) are the most common type of BP profile. Patients with RH in combination with RA are characterized by an increase in BP more at night (p <0.003), which corresponds to the high frequency of night-peackers (17.7%). The presence of RA determines worse control of diastolic BP (p <0.01) and more vascular overload on organs and systems during the night (p <0.05). Conclusions: An increase in BP in patients with RA in combination with RH is more significant at night, characterized by poorer BP control and greater vascular load at night indicating the need for tighter control of BP during sleep. Non-dippers are most often detected among patients with RA in combination with RH, which is prognostically unfavorable for the development of nocturnal “vascular accidents”.