This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 48/3/364    most recent 01.HYP.0000236598.09405.06v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by O’Brien, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by O’Brien, E. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information High Blood Pressure Related Collections Clinical Studies Other diagnostic testing Related Article

(Hypertension. 2006;48:364.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial Commentaries

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement

A Trove of Hidden Gems?

Eoin O’Brien

From the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Correspondence to Eoin O’Brien, Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. E-mail eobrien@iol.ie

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

One of the consequences of hypertension is increasing stiffness of the arteries, which leads to cardiovascular events and increased mortality.¹ Clearly this process is a continuous one and, contrary to acceptance that such change is inevitable, it is not now unreasonable to assume that if stiffening in the arterial system could be detected at an early rather than at a late stage, therapeutic interventions might be initiated to delay or even prevent its occurrence. However, measuring arterial stiffness requires special equipment and trained staff, facilities that are not generally available and that are, moreover, costly. It has been proposed recently that a measure of arterial stiffness could be obtained from the routine use of ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) by using the dynamic relationship between diastolic and systolic blood pressure over 24 hours, calculated as 1 minus the regression slope of diastolic on systolic blood pressure. The rationale underlying the ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) is that average distending pressure varies during the day and that the relation between diastolic and systolic blood pressure, with this changing distending pressure, depends largely on the structural and functional characteristics of the large arteries.

In the Dublin Outcome Study, AASI predicted cardiovascular mortality in a large cohort of hypertensive individuals. Moreover, this prediction withstood additional adjustment for other risk factors, including pulse pressure. Interestingly, AASI was a stronger predictor of fatal stroke than pulse pressure in patients with ambulatory normotension suggesting that AASI may provide an early indication of arterial stiffness before sustained . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Article:

Increased Ambulatory Arterial Stiffness Index Is Associated With Target Organ Damage in Primary Hypertension

Giovanna Leoncini, Elena Ratto, Francesca Viazzi, Valentina Vaccaro, Angelica Parodi, Valeria Falqui, Novella Conti, Cinzia Tomolillo, Giacomo Deferrari, and Roberto Pontremoli
Hypertension 2006 48: 397-403. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. O'Brien Is the Case for ABPM as a Routine Investigation in Clinical Practice Not Overwhelming? Hypertension, August 1, 2007; 50(2): 284 - 286. [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Schillaci, G. Parati, M. Pirro, G. Pucci, M. R. Mannarino, L. Sperandini, and E. Mannarino Ambulatory Arterial Stiffness Index Is Not a Specific Marker of Reduced Arterial Compliance Hypertension, May 1, 2007; 49(5): 986 - 991. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. O'Brien Sleepers Versus Nonsleepers: Another Twist to the Dipper/Nondipper Concept Hypertension, April 1, 2007; 49(4): 769 - 770. [Full Text] [PDF]