(Hypertension. 1999;33:800-805.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
From the Division of Cardiology, The New York Presbyterian HospitalWeill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY (G.d.S., M.J.R., M.J.K., G.A.M., R.B.D.); the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy (G.d.S.); and Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Sassari (Italy) (A.G.).
Correspondence to Dr Giovanni de Simone, Division of Cardiology, The New York Presbyterian HospitalWeill Medical College of Cornell University, 525 E 68th St, New York, NY 10021. E-mail simogi{at}unina.it
| Abstract |
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Key Words: hypertension, arterial echocardiography cardiac hypertrophy prognosis pulse
| Introduction |
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Decreased arterial compliance may be a stimulus for left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy,6 7 8 especially the concentric pattern.9 This association may play a role in the increase in cardiovascular risk associated with the presence of concentric LV hypertrophy.10 Although PP might independently predict cardiovascular risk,11 12 13 14 there is no information on the ability of SV/PP to predict risk or on whether this prediction is independent of LV hypertrophy. Accordingly, this study was designed to investigate whether SV/PP is an independent marker of cardiovascular risk in arterial hypertension.
| Methods |
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Echocardiography
Two-dimensionally targeted M-mode echocardiograms were performed
as previously described.17 18 19 20 21 22 23 LV
end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes were
calculated with the Z-derived method,24
which exhibited a high accuracy for M-mode LV volume calculation even
in the presence of dilated LV cavities. SV was calculated in
milliliters per beat as end-diastolic minus
end-systolic volume and normalized for body surface area
(stroke index).25 Reproducibility of various
echocardiographic quantitative parameters
has been reported in previous works18 26 as well as more
recently.27 28 Reproducibility of PP was assessed with the
data set of the Reproducibility Echocardiographic
Study28 by single-measure intraclass correlation of
measurements performed by a single observer 3 to 10 days apart (n=261,
Ri=0.87).
SV/PP Estimation
Blood pressure (BP) was measured at the first and fifth
Korotkoff phases with the use of an arm-cuff sphygmomanometer at the
end of the initial echocardiograms. Brachial PP was calculated as the
difference between systolic and diastolic BP and
used as a raw inverse estimate of total arterial
compliance29 together with SV/PP and the ratios of stroke
index to pulse pressure (SVi/PP). The value of SV/PP (mL ·
beat-1 ·
mm Hg-1) was also compared with the value
predicted by a multiple regression equation developed in 393
normotensive, normal-weight adults previously studied with the use of
Teichholz's method to determine LV volumes.5 The new
equation developed with the use of the Z-derived method of
calculation of LV volumes in the same population24
was
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Because of the known decline with age of PP augmentation from the
central aorta to the peripheral arteries, the central PP
determined by carotid aplanation tonometry6 7 8 9 was
estimated with the use of a regression equation with brachial pressure
(in mm Hg) and age (in years) in 145 unmedicated hypertensive
patients and 85 normotensive subjects studied in our laboratory:
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Statistical Analysis
Data were analyzed with commercially available
statistical packages. Standard analyses were carried out with
the use of 1-way ANOVA with the step-down multiple-stage F
post hoc test (Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welsch F
test)30 and least-squares linear regression.
Differences between regression lines were tested by computing
F statistics of between-slopes sum of squares of
standardized variables.31
Discriminant analysis based on logistic regression was used to identify variables that independently predicted cardiovascular morbid events or death by computing the exponential of the coefficients of regression (which is equivalent to a relative risk) and the relative 95% confidence limit. A stepwise procedure (forward conditional) was adopted using continuous variables and gender as a discrete variable (1=women, 2=men). To compute positive coefficients of regression consistent with those obtained with the other variables, SV/PP, SVi/PP, and the ratio of observed-to-predicted SV/PP entered the models in the form of their inverse values (ie, 1/[SV/PP]=PP/SV).
Product-limit Kaplan-Meyer estimation of survival functions and Cox proportional hazard analysis were computed for patients with normal or reduced %predicted SV/PP.
The null hypothesis was rejected at a 2-tailed value of P<0.05
| Results |
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Table 1 shows that the subgroup of patients who had fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events were older (P<0.0001) and had higher body mass index (P<0.02), systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressures (all P<0.002), and lower SV/PP, SVi/PP, and %predicted SV/PP (P<0.007) than event-free patients. Only age and systolic and pulse pressure were higher in patients with follow-up fatal cardiovascular events (all P<0.0001).
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Unadjusted Relative Risk
Risk of cardiovascular morbidity or mortality
increased by 3% and 4%, respectively, for each mm Hg of
increase in PP[exp(b) (95% confidence interval)=1.03 (1.01 to 1.05)
and 1.04 (1.02 to 1.07), respectively, both P<0.001], by
5% and 6% for each 0.1 mL/mm Hg decrease in SV/PP ratio
[exp(b)=4.97 (2.07 to 11.92), P<0.0003, and 5.96 (1.88 to
18.89), P<0.002, respectively]. With the use of SVi/PP,
risk of both total cardiovascular events and fatal
events increased by 3% for each 0.1 mL ·
m2 · mm Hg-1
[exp(b)=3.02 (1.80 to 5.09), P<0.0001 and 3.04 (1.54 to
6.02), P<0.002, respectively]. Similarly, risk of
cardiovascular morbidity and mortality increased by
4% for each unit of decrease in %predicted SV/PP [exp(b)=3.74
(1.98 to 7.02), P<0.0001 and 4.13 (1.72 to 9.92),
P<0.002, respectively].
Multivariate Analysis for Prediction of
Cardiovascular Risk
Multiple logistic regression was used to detect the independent
effect of SV/PP, SVi/PP, and %predicted SV/PP in separate models that
also included systolic BP, age, gender, and LV mass
index. In addition to age
(P<0.0001) and LV mass index (P<0.005),
decrease in %predicted SV/PP was independently related to the risk of
all cardiovascular events (P<0.001) (Table 2). Similar results were attained with the SVi/PP [exp(b)=1.94/
mL · m2 ·
mm Hg-1 decrease (1.12 to 3.35),
P<0.02]. SV/PP did not remain an independent predictor of
total and fatal cardiovascular events after
consideration of age and LV mass index.
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Other discriminant models were also generated for SVi/PP and %predicted SV/PP, substituting systolic BP with PP or mean BP, and the results were identical as with systolic BP. In every model, the iteration history showed that after age, LV mass index entered as the second most powerful predictor, followed negatively by %predicted SV/PP, which exhibited a residual association with adverse events higher than either systolic, pulse, or mean pressure. For instance, after age and LV mass index, the r-to-enter of %predicted SV/PP was 0.13 (P<0.01), higher than that of systolic BP (r=0.09, P<0.04). After the entry of %predicted SV/PP into the model, the residual r-to-enter of systolic BP was close to 0, with P>0.5. Interestingly, the exp(b) of age and LV mass index were not reduced by the entry of %predicted SV/PP as the third variable into the model (1.07 and 1.03, respectively, in the model with systolic BP, before entry of %predicted SV/PP).
Risk of cardiovascular death was only predicted by age and LV mass index in all models including SVi/PP or %predicted SV/PP and also including systolic BP (or PP or mean BP) and gender.
Time-Dependent Procedures
The inverse of %predicted SV/PP was evaluated in Cox proportional
hazard analysis. Patients were classified in relation to the
5th percentile of the distribution in the reference
population5 to generate survival curves
(Figure). A low value of %predicted
SV/PP was found in 100 patients, and among them 26 had follow-up
adverse events (odds ratio=2.5 [1.3 to 4.6], P<0.005). As
shown in the Figure, after adjusting for age, LV mass, and
height (as another potential predictor of
cardiovascular risk), event-free survival was lower in
patients with %predicted SV/PP from 4 years after enrollment to the
end of follow-up. The inverse of %predicted SV/PP was used as a
continuous variable for final Cox model. The probability of future
cardiovascular events increased with decreasing
%predicted SV/PP [exp(b)=2.49 (1.37 to 4.54), P<0.003],
independent of age [exp(b)=1.05 (1.02 to 1.08), P<0.002]
and LV mass index [exp(b)=1.02 (1.01 to 1.03), P<0.0003],
whereas height did not enter the model.
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Relation to Measures of LV Geometry
LV mass index was related to systolic BP
(r=0.29, P<0.0001) and more weakly to PP
(r=0.16, P<0.005) but not to SV/PP, SVi/PP, or
%predicted SV/PP (all r<0.02). In contrast, relative wall
thickness was more closely related to SV/PP (r=-0.29,
P<0.0001), SVi/PP (r=-0.31,
P<0.0001), and %predicted SV/PP (r=-0.31,
P<0.0001) than to systolic BP (r=0.18,
standardized slope differences calculated with the inverse of
systolic BP: all P<0.005) or to PP
(r=0.03).
Table 3 shows that the severity of BP elevation was associated with the presence of LV hypertrophy, whereas reduced SV/PP-based measures were associated with concentric LV geometry either with or without an increase in LV mass. Eccentric LV hypertrophy was associated with higher levels of SV/PP-based measures. It is noteworthy that PP was not significantly different among patients with the 4 LV geometric patterns.
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| Discussion |
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Another limitation of the calculation of SV/PP is the use of
peripheral instead of central PP. We studied the relation
between central and peripheral PP by using age in the
regression model as the variable mostly affecting the difference.
However, only
40% of variance could be explained by that model, and
the extent of this relation did not change by adding height and gender
as independent correlates. Thus, other variables and/or method
error not considered in the regression model may influence differences
between central and peripheral pulse pressure. Accordingly,
a more direct measure of central PP may be needed to further improve
the predictive value of the index proposed in the current study.
Calibrated carotid tonometry merged with ultrasound
arterial wall identification provides more direct measures
of the compliance of conduit arteries than the simple calculation of
SV/PP.9 33 34 A major advantage of this direct method is
the elimination of the age-dependent decline in the overestimation of
central PP by peripheral measurements in young individuals,
which results in underestimation of systemic arterial
compliance by the SV/PP. In this study, this error has been in part
attenuated by using the multiple regression equation including age.
Keeping in mind the above considerations, in previous studies we demonstrated that in adults, body size is an important covariate of SV/PP,5 35 more important than gender, paralleling the known association between body size and the size of the aorta.36 Therefore, the physiological effect of body size on SV/PP needs to be taken into account when a clinical application of this ratio is attempted.
There are several studies addressing the potential independent negative prognostic implication of decreased arterial compliance. In addition to data suggesting an adverse effect of high PP,11 12 13 14 37 reduced arterial compliance measured through more direct methods has been reported to be related to concentric LV hypertrophy,9 cardiovascular risk factors,38 and prevalent cerebrovascular disease.39
SV/PP as an Independent Marker of Cardiovascular Risk
When the effects of age, body size, and heart rate on the
SV/PP ratio are taken into account, this measure was a marker of
cardiovascular risk independent of age, height, and LV
mass index in the present series of patients with
arterial hypertension. The predictive value of the adjusted
SV/PP was greater than that of systolic BP or PP, a biological
variable associated with SV/PP and measures of arterial
compliance.40 41 42
In the context of a limited range of BP as seen in a purely hypertensive population, SV/PP-based variables may be prognostically more important than isolated BP measurements because their variability has not been constrained by diagnostic criteria. The coefficient of variability of systolic BP in the whole study population was 13.9% compared with 33.5% for SV/PP as percentage of predicted (P<0.0001). Thus in hypertension, SV/PP-based measures may be more important for prediction of cardiovascular events than measures of arterial pressure because their biological variability is higher (in part because of the flow component). Accordingly, the present results should be interpreted in the context of the type of population studied and cannot be automatically generalized to unselected populations.
From the prognostic point of view, the use of SV/PP as a %predicted increased the prediction of cardiovascular complications of arterial hypertension compared with use of the simpler SVi/PP. The inclusion of age, body size, and heart rate in the computation of %predicted SV/PP might have strengthened the relation with adverse events because each of these covariates has been related to adverse outcome in patients with cardiovascular disease. Moreover, further adjustment for age may attenuate or eliminate the overestimation of central PP by peripheral measurements in young, disease-free individuals.
The finding of an independent relation of SV/PP-based measures to cardiovascular morbidity has not been previously reported but is not surprising. Interestingly, similar to previous studies,9 whereas BP is more associated with increased LV mass, SV/PP-based measures are more related to concentric LV geometric patterns43 and may contribute to explaining the relatively higher risk associated with these patterns.10 44 45 There was not a statistically independent effect of low %predicted SV/PP on cardiovascular mortality in our study population, but the lack of this association might be due to both the relatively small number of cardiovascular deaths and the strong association between LV hypertrophy and the occurrence of cardiovascular death that has been previously reported.10 16 46
Conclusions
Reduced values of the ratio between SV and PP as a percentage of
predicted by individual body size, age, and heart rate is a predictor
of cardiovascular morbidity independent of age and
presence of LV hypertrophy in arterial
hypertension. Studies on more direct indexes of arterial
stiffness should be advisable to detect the interest of this
parameter in the prediction of
cardiovascular risk.
| Acknowledgments |
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Received August 4, 1998; first decision September 1, 1998; accepted November 30, 1998.
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