High Normal Blood Pressure Linked To Cardiovascular Risk

May 29, 2008 · 90 views · Filed Under Disease

A new study of more than 10,000 patients, conducted by the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff in the United Kingdom using AtCor Medical Holdings Limited’s SphygmoCor has found that more than 70 percent of patients identified as having “high normal” systolic blood pressure through traditional cuff blood pressure measurement may be at serious cardiovascular risk. This is because those individuals have elevated central systolic blood pressure, which is associated with increased incidence of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. SphygmoCor is a non-invasive central blood pressure assessment technology that has been used by researchers over the past several years.

The Anglo Cardiff Collaborative Trial, a cooperative effort of the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff in the United Kingdom, tracked the blood pressure of 10,613 patients with two systems — traditional blood pressure measurement using an inflatable arm cuff, and non-invasive central blood pressure assessment using SphygmoCor. The investigators found that more than 70 percent of patients with brachial systolic blood pressure in the “high normal” range (130-139 mm Hg) had central systolic blood pressures corresponding to those seen in patients with Stage One Hypertension (140-159 mm Hg measured brachially). Treatment guidelines call for anti-hypertensive drug therapy for stage one hypertension whereas life-style changes only are guided in the “high normal” range. Elevated central pressure was also found to be associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk factors.

“The real significance of these findings is that central and brachial blood pressures are not the same, meaning that central pressure cannot simply be inferred from the brachial pressure measurement, but should also be assessed,” said Dr. Carmel McEniery, the study’s lead author. “Current guidelines for the diagnosis and management of hypertension are based solely on brachial pressure, yet this results in a large number of individuals being mis-classified based on their central pressure, leading to sub-optimal treatment.”

Full Story: High Normal Blood Pressure Linked To Cardiovascular Risk
Source: AtCor Medical

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