Cardiovascular risk stratification in hypertensive patients: impact of echocardiography and carotid ultrasonography.

BACKGROUND: Decision about the management of hypertensive patients should not be based on the level of blood pressure alone, but also on the presence of other risk factors, target organ damage (TOD) and cardiovascular and renal disease. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of echocardiography and carotid ultrasonography in a more precise stratification of absolute cardiovascular risk. METHODS: Never-treated essential hypertensives (n = 141; 73 men, 68 women, mean age 46 +/- 11 years) referred for the first time to our out-patient clinic were included in the study. They underwent the following procedures: (1) family and personal medical history, (2) clinical blood pressure (BP) measurement, (3) routine blood chemistry and urine analysis, (4) electrocardiogram, (5) echocardiogram, (6) carotid ultrasonogram. Risk was stratified according to the criteria suggested by the 1999 WHO/ISH guidelines. TOD was initially evaluated by routine procedures only, and subsequently reassessed by using data on cardiac and vascular structure obtained by ultrasound examinations (left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as left ventricular mass index (LVMI) > 134 g/m2 in men and > 110 g/m2 in women; carotid plaque as focal thickening > 1.3 mm). RESULTS: According to the first classification 20% were low-risk patients, 50% medium-risk, 22% high-risk and 8% very-high-risk patients. A marked change in risk stratification was obtained when TOD was assessed by adding ultrasound examinations: low-risk patients 18%, medium-risk 28%, high-risk 45%, very-high-risk patients 9%. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of TOD by ultrasound techniques allowed a much more accurate identification of high-risk patients, who represented a very large fraction (45%) of the patient population seen at our hypertension clinic. In particular, a large proportion of patients classified as at moderate risk by routine investigations were instead found to be at high risk when ultrasound examinations were added. The results of this study suggest that cardiovascular risk stratification only based on simple routine work-up can often underestimate overall risk, thus leading to a potentially inadequate therapeutic management especially of low-medium risk patients.

Target organ damage and non-dipping pattern defined by two sessions of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in recently diagnosed essential hypertensive patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate in a selected population of patients with a recent diagnosis of hypertension whether a reduced nocturnal fall in blood pressure, confirmed by two 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) sessions is associated with more prominent target organ damage (TOD). METHODS: The study was structured in two phases: in the first, 141 consecutive, recently diagnosed, never-treated essential hypertensives underwent 24 h ABPM twice within 3 weeks; in the second phase, 118 of these patients showing reproducible dipping or non-dipping patterns underwent the following procedures: (1) routine blood chemistry, (2) 24 h urinary collection for microalbuminuria, (3) amydriatic photography of ocular fundi, (4) echocardiography and (5) carotid ultrasonography. RESULTS: The 92 patients with (>10%) night-time fall in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (dippers) in both monitoring sessions were similar for age, gender, body surface area, smoking habit, clinic BP, 24 h and 48 h BP to the 26 patients with a < or = 10% nocturnal fall (non-dippers) in both sessions. The prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (defined by two criteria: (1) LV mass index > or = 125 g/m2 in both genders; (2) LV mass index > or = 120 and 100 g/m2 in men and women, respectively) and that of carotid intima-media (IM) thickening (IM thickness > or = 0.8 mm) were significantly higher in non-dippers than in dippers (23 versus 5%, P < 0.01; 50 versus 22%, P < 0.05; and 38 versus 18%, P < 0.05, respectively). There were no differences among the two groups in the prevalence of retinal changes and microalbuminuria. The strength of the association of LV mass index with night-time BP was slightly but significantly greater than that with daytime BP. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that a blunted reduction in nocturnal BP, persisting over time, may play a pivotal role in the development of some expressions of TOD, such as LVH and IM thickening, during the early phase of essential hypertension, despite similar clinic BP, 24 h and 48 h BP levels observed in non-dippers and dippers.

High prevalence of cardiac and extracardiac target organ damage in refractory hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: Target organ damage (TOD) in chronically treated hypertensives is related to effective blood pressure (BP) control. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cardiac and extracardiac TOD in patients with refractory hypertension (RH) compared with well-controlled treated hypertensives (C). METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive patients with RH (57 +/- 10 years), selected according to WHO/ISH guidelines definition, and 51 essential hypertensives (55 +/- 10 years) with satisfactory BP control obtained by association therapy, underwent the following procedures: (1) clinic BP measurement; (2) blood sampling for routine chemistry examinations; (3) 24 h urine collection for microalbuminuria; (4) non-mydriatic retinography; (5) echocardiogram; (6) carotid ultrasonogram. In order to exclude 'office resistance' (defined as clinic BP > 140/90 mmHg and average 24 h BP or =1.0 mm, respectively); a higher prevalence of carotid plaques (65 versus 32%, P < 0.05), a more advanced retinal involvement (grade II and III, 73 and 5% versus 38 and 0%, P < 0.01) and a greater albumin urinary excretion (22 +/- 32 mg/24 h versus 11 +/- 13 mg/24 h, P < 0.01) were found in RH compared to C. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that RH is a clinical condition associated with a high prevalence of TOD at cardiac, macro- and microvascular level and consequently with high absolute cardiovascular risk, which needs a particularly intensive therapeutic approach aimed to normalize BP levels and to induce TOD regression.

Prevalence of target organ damage in treated hypertensive patients: different impact of clinic and ambulatory blood pressure control.

OBJECTIVES: First, to evaluate the prevalence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, LV concentric remodelling and microalbuminuria in a selected sample of treated hypertensive patients with effective and prolonged clinic blood pressure (BP) control (BP < 140/90 mmHg). Second, to compare the prevalence of these markers of organ damage in patients with and without ambulatory BP (ABP) control, defined as average daytime BP < 132/85 mmHg). DESIGN AND METHODS: Fifty-eight consecutive hypertensive patients who attended our hypertension outpatient clinic over a period of 3 months and were regularly followed up by the same medical team were included in the study. Obesity, diabetes mellitus, history or signs of cardiovascular or renal complications and major noncardiovascular diseases were the exclusion criteria from the study. Each patient underwent 24 h ABP monitoring, echocardiography and 24 h urine collection for albumin measurement. RESULTS: The prevalence of LV hypertrophy (LV mass index > 125 g/m2 in both sexes), LV concentric remodelling (relative wall thickness > 0.45) and microalbuminuria (urinary albumin excretion < 300 mg/ 24 h) in this selected group of patients (32 men, 26 women; mean age 53 +/- 9 years; mean clinic BP 122 +/- 9/ 78 +/- 6 mmHg) was markedly low (6.9, 8.6 and 5.1%, respectively). The 26 patients with effective ABP control (group I) were similar to the 32 patients without effective ABP control (group II) in age, gender, body surface area, clinic BP, smoking habit, glucose, cholesterol and creatinine plasma levels. Prevalence of LV hypertrophy, LV concentric remodelling and microalbuminuria was lower in group I than in group II (0 versus 12.9% P< 0.01, 7.7 versus 9.4% NS, 3.8 versus 6.2% NS, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that nonobese, nondiabetic hypertensive patients with an effective clinic BP control have a very low prevalence of target organ damage and that LVH is present only in individuals with insufficient ABP control.

Impact of nocturnal fall in blood pressure on early cardiovascular changes in essential hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate in a selected population of subjects with a recent diagnosis of hypertension whether a blunted nocturnal fall in blood pressure is associated with more advanced cardiac and vascular damage. METHODS: One hundred and eleven recently diagnosed and never-treated patients with mild essential hypertension underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), echocardiography and carotid ultrasonography. RESULTS: The 78 patients with normal (> 10%) night-time fall in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (dippers) were similar to the 33 patients with a small (< or = 10 %) fall (non-dippers) for age, sex, body surface area, smoking habit, clinic and 24-h blood pressure. There were no differences between dippers and non-dippers in left ventricular mass index (104 versus 105 g/m2), common carotid internal diameter (5.8 versus 5.9 mm), intima-media thickness (0.66 versus 0.64 mm) and carotid plaques prevalence (25 versus 29%). Furthermore, no differences were found in the correlation of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP with left ventricular mass and carotid wall thickness. When the 77 men and 34 women were analysed separately, similar results were obtained. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a blunted reduction in night-time blood pressure does not play a major role in the development of cardiovascular changes during the early phase of essential hypertension.

Blood pressure control in a hypertension hospital clinic.

OBJECTIVES: First, to evaluate the prevalence of clinic blood pressure (BP) control (BP < or = 140/90 mm Hg) in a representative sample of treated hypertensive patients followed in our hypertension clinic. Second, to assess in a subgroup of these patients: (a) the proportion of BP control with both clinic blood pressure (CBP < or =140/90 mm Hg) and daytime ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) (< or =132/85 mm Hg) criteria, and (b) the prevalence of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (left ventricular mass index, LVMI>125 g/m2 in men and >110 g/m2 in women). DESIGN AND METHODS: Seven hundred consecutive hypertensive patients who attended our hypertension centre clinic during a period of 6 months and who had regularly been followed up by the same medical team were included in the study. BP was taken in the clinic by a doctor using a mercury sphygmomanometer with the participants seated. Seventy-four patients with similar demographic and clinical characteristics to the entire population of participants underwent complete echocardiographic examination and 24 h ABP monitoring. RESULTS: During follow-up, 352 of the treated patients had clinic BP < or =140/90 mm Hg, 198< or =160/95 mm Hg and 150>160/95 mm Hg, indicating that BP control was satisfactory in 50.3%, borderline in 28.3% and unsatisfactory in 21.4% of the cases. In the subgroup of 74 patients, the proportion of individuals with satisfactory clinic BP control (CBP< or =140/90 mm Hg) was higher (50.0 versus 33.6%) than with satisfactory ABP control (daytime ABP values < or =132/85 mm Hg). LVH was found in 21 of the 74 patients (28.3%): 12 of them had unsatisfactory CBP control and 19 had unsatisfactory ABP control. LVMI did not correlate with CBP values but only with ABP values (mean 24 h systolic r = 0.47, diastolic r = 0.40, P<0.001; mean daytime systolic r = 0.45, mean daytime diastolic r = 0.39, P<0.001; mean night-time systolic r = 0.38, mean night-time diastolic r = 0.38, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that hypertensive patients managed in a hypertension centre clinic have satisfactory CBP control in 50% of cases, but this rate seems to over-estimate the effective BP control during daily life. A large fraction of patients show persistence of LVH and this evidence of organ damage almost entirely concerns individuals with poor ABP control.

Improvement of patients' knowledge by a single educational meeting on hypertension.

OBJECTIVES: A poor therapeutic compliance is a major cause of insufficient control of hypertension. As education of patients is fundamental in order to improve their compliance, we organised two pilot educational meetings aimed at (1) assessing the support of patients to this kind of meetings, and (2) verifying the impact on patient's education. METHODS: We invited 225 consecutive patients referred to our Hypertension Clinic (some of them regularly followed up and some referred for the first time) to participate to an educational meeting on hypertension. Patients were divided in two groups, for organising reasons each attending a single meeting. Each meeting included four sessions: (1) the first session included a multiple choice questionnaire (nine questions, with answers collected by an interactive electronic system) in order to evaluate the degree of patient's information about hypertension (definition, prevalence, aetiology, complications and treatment), (2) a traditional teaching session, (3) an interactive phase aimed to assess the improvement of knowledge in which the same questions as in the first session have been asked again, and (4) a general discussion session. RESULTS: A total of 144 patients (mean age 54 +/- 12 years; 76 M, 68 F) of the 225 invited attended the meeting. The answers to our questions in the initial session were correct in a percentage ranging from 60% to 80%. During the third phase immediately after the teaching session, the percentage of correct answers increased significantly (range: 75--98%, P < 0.05 at least in all questions). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows: (1) a satisfactory adherence of patients to this educational initiative; (2) a positive impact of a single educational meeting on patient's knowledge about issues related to hypertension. The potential role of improving patient's education on clinical outcomes such as blood pressure levels and the rate of blood pressure control requires future controlled studies. Journal of Human Hypertension (2001) 15, 57-61

Influence of different echocardiographic criteria for detection of left ventricular hypertrophy on cardiovascular risk stratification in recently diagnosed essential hypertensives.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) need a prompter and more intensive pharmacological treatment than subjects without evidence of cardiac involvement. So the detection of LVH plays an important role for decision-making in hypertensives. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of different echocardiographic criteria to define LVH in a more precise stratification of absolute cardiovascular risk in hypertensives without target organ damage (TOD) as assessed by routine investigations. METHODS: A total of 100 never treated patients with grade 1 and 2 essential hypertension (53 men, 47 women, age 44 +/- 12 years) referred for the first time to our outpatient clinic were included in the study. They underwent the following procedures: (1) family and personal medical history, (2) clinic blood pressure (BP) measurement, (3) routine blood chemistry and urine analysis, (4) electrocardiogram, (5) echocardiogram. Risk was stratified according to the criteria suggested by the 1999 WHO-ISH guidelines. TOD was initially evaluated by routine procedures only, and subsequently reassessed by using six different echocardiographic criteria to recognise LVH: (a) left ventricular mass index (LVMI) >120 g/m(2) in men and 100 g/m(2) in women; (b) 125 g/m(2) in men and 110 g/m(2) in women; (c) 134 g/m(2) in men and 110 g/m(2) in women; (d) 125 g/m(2) in men and 125 g/m(2) in women; (e) 51 g/m(2.7) in men and 47 g/m(2.7) in women; (f) 126 g/m in men and 105 g/m in women. RESULTS: According to the first classification based on routine investigations, 46% were low risk and 54% were medium risk patients. Significant changes in risk stratification were obtained when LVH was assessed by echocardiography. A percentage of patients, ranging from 9 (f) to 25% (d), were found to having LVH according to different criteria, and consequently moved from low and medium risk strata to high risk stratum. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of LVH by echocardiography allowed a much more accurate identification of high risk patients. In particular our results suggest that: (1) cardiovascular risk stratification only based on a simple routine work-up can often underestimate overall risk; (2) a better standardisation in defining LVH is needed, considering that the impact of cardiac hypertrophy on risk stratification is markedly dependent on the echocardiographic criteria used to diagnose it.

Left ventricular concentric remodelling and extracardiac target organ damage in essential hypertension.

Left ventricular (LV) concentric remodelling is an adaptive change in cardiac geometry frequently observed in arterial hypertension. This study was addressed to investigate the extent of extracardiac target organ damage (TOD) in patients with LV concentric remodelling. Two groups of never-treated essential hypertensives, 31 with normal LV geometry (group I, relative wall thickness: 0.39) and 31 with LV concentric remodelling (group II, relative wall thickness: 0.47) matched for age, sex, body mass index and mean 24-h systolic blood pressure (BP), were included in the study. They underwent clinical and laboratory examination, 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), 24-h urinary collection for microalbuminuria, non-mydriatic photography of ocular fundi, echocardiography and carotid ultrasonography. In both groups age (I: 51 +/- 11 years; II: 51 +/- 11 years), body mass index (I: 25 +/- 3 kg/m(2); II: 26 +/- 3 kg/m(2)), clinic and 24-h ABPM values (I: 149 +/- 11/95 +/- 8, 142 +/- 11/91 +/- 7 mm Hg; II: 150 +/- 11/98 +/- 9, 142 +/- 12/92 +/- 9 mm Hg) were similar by design. There were no differences between patients with normal LV geometry and with LV concentric remodelling in LVM index (97 +/- 16 vs 99 +/- 16), carotid intima-media thickness (0.7 +/- 0.02 vs 0.7 +/- 0.02) and carotid plaques prevalence (35% vs 35%). Furthermore, no significant differences among the two groups were found in the prevalence of retinal changes and microalbuminuria. These results suggest that in hypertensive patients with similar BP and LVMI levels, LV concentric remodelling is not associated with more prominent TOD.

Short and long-term impact of a structured educational program on the patient's knowledge of hypertension.

BACKGROUND: It has been generally accepted that educational programs can be beneficial in the treatment of a number of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus as well as of cardiovascular risk factors and hypertension. We organized a structured educational intervention aimed at 1) assessing the patient's baseline knowledge of hypertension, 2) verifying the short and long-term impact of this initiative on patient's education. METHODS: We invited 174 consecutive patients referred to our hypertension outpatient clinic to participate in an educational meeting on hypertension. For organizational reasons, patients were divided into two groups, each attending a single meeting. Each meeting included four sessions: 1) in the first session a multiple choice questionnaire (nine questions, with answers collected by an interactive electronic system) was administered in order to evaluate patients' baseline knowledge of hypertension, 2) a traditional teaching session, 3) an interactive phase aimed at assessing the improvement of knowledge in which the same questions as in the first session were assessed again, 4) a general discussion session. At the end of the meeting a booklet on principal issues related to hypertension was given to each patient. In order to evaluate the long-term impact of this initiative on the patient's knowledge, 6 months later we invited the patients to answer to the same questions in a questionnaire sent to their home address. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-three patients of the 174 invited attended the meeting and 111 (57 males, 54 females, mean age 53 +/- 13 years) completed the questionnaire after 6 months. The answers to the questions in the initial session were correct in a percentage ranging from 60 to 80% (mean 68%) and immediately after the teaching session this rate increased significantly (range 75-98%, mean 90%, p < 0.05 at least, in all questions). A similar good level of knowledge was maintained in the long term (percentage of exact answers ranging from 78 to 97%, mean 88%, p < 0.05 or p < 0.01 compared to baseline). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study show a positive short and long-term impact of a structured educational intervention on the patient's knowledge of issues related to arterial hypertension. The beneficial role on clinical outcomes such as blood pressure control and cardiovascular events will need future controlled trials.

Evaluation of target organ damage in arterial hypertension: which role for qualitative funduscopic examination?

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of quantitative markers of target organ damage, such as echocardiographically documented left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), carotid structural changes and microalbuminuria with that of retinal abnormalities detected by qualitative funduscopic examination in a large selected population of patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: Eight hundred consecutive untreated (n = 232) and treated (n = 568) hypertensive patients (386 men, 414 women, mean age 52.7 +/- 11.8 years) referred for the first time to our out-patient clinic were included in the study. In order to search for target organ damage, they were submitted to the following procedures: 1) amydriatic retinography, 2) 24-hour urine collection for microalbuminuria, 3) echocardiography, and 4) carotid ultrasonography. Retinal changes were evaluated according to the Keith, Wagener and Barker (KWB) classification by two physicians, who had no knowledge of the patients' characteristics. Microalbuminuria was defined as a urinary albumin excretion > 30 and < 300 mg/24 hours, LVH as a left ventricular mass index > or = 134 g/m2 in men and > or = 110 g/m2 in women; finally carotid plaque was defined as a focal thickening > 1.3 mm. RESULTS: Hypertensive retinopathy was the most frequent (KWB grade I 46%, II 32%, III-IV < 2%) marker of target organ damage, followed by carotid plaques (43%), LVH (22 %, eccentric LVH was the prevalent type and was 1.8 times as frequent as the concentric one) and microalbuminuria (14%). CONCLUSIONS: At variance with the markers of cardiac, macrovascular and renal damage, an extremely high prevalence of retinal abnormalities (narrowings and initial arterio-venous crossings) were found in our population. If, as suggested by the WHO/ISH guidelines, these retinal abnormalities were considered as a reliable marker of target organ damage, then almost all patients would be affected by hypertensive vascular disease. Based on this evidence it is suggested that retinal abnormalities included in funduscopic grades I and II of the KWB classification should not be considered among the criteria for the quantitative detection of target organ damage.

"To better know hypertension": educational meetings for hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND: Pilot educational meetings were conducted to (1) verify the support of hypertensive patients in this initiative; (2) test the knowledge of patients regularly followed-up in our Hypertension Centre Outpatient Clinic concerning problems related to hypertension; (3) improve patients knowledge about hypertension through a formal teaching session, (4) compare the knowledge of these patients with that of a control group. METHODS: An invitation to participate in an educational program on hypertension was extended to 210 consecutive patients (group I ) followed-up in the outpatient clinic of our Hypertension Centre. Each meeting included four sessions: (1) an interactive phase with electronic devices aimed at evaluating the degree of information about hypertension by means of multiple-choice questionnaires, (2) a traditional teaching session, (3) an interactive phase to assess the compliance to treatment, and (4) a general discussion session. The control group (II) included 144 hypertensive patients referred for the first time to our Hypertension Centre. Before the initial visit the patients were asked to answer a questionnaire identical to that provided to group I during the meetings. RESULTS: The meetings were attended by 183 out of the 210 patients in group I (participation rate = 87%). The answers to the questions were corrected as a percentage ranging from 73.7 to 95.6 in group I and from 43.9 to 74.7 in group II (p < 0.01). The provision of more detailed information about problems in hypertension was associated with better compliance to treatment and blood pressure control. (BP under treatment 138 +/- 14/83 +/- 7 mmHg in group I, 152 +/- 15/91 +/- 11 mmHg in group II; (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that this type of educational approach is appreciated by patients (participation rate 87%) and that the level of knowledge about hypertension and compliance to treatment are greater in selected patients than in control patients.

Impact of blood pressure control on prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in treated hypertensive patients.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to evaluate (1) the prevalence and patterns of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and (2) the impact of blood pressure (BP) control, assessed by clinical and 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) criteria on the persistence of LVH in a representative sample of treated patients attending our Hypertension Clinic. METHODS: One hundred consecutive essential hypertensives (61 m/39 f, age 56+/- 9 years) regularly followed up by the same medical team (average period 52 months, 12-156 months) were included in the study and underwent 24-hour ABPM and complete echocardiographic examination. RESULTS: Twenty-eight of the 100 patients were found to have LVH [left ventricular mass index (LVMI) >125 g/m(2) in men and >110 g/m(2) in women]; LVH was eccentric in 20 patients and concentric in the remaining 8. LVMI did not correlate with clinical BP values but only with ABPM values (mean 24 h systolic r = 0.34, p <0.01; diastolic r = 0.37, p <0.01). The prevalence of LVH in patients controlled according to clinical BP criteria (n = 43, BP <140/90 mm Hg) was 19%, in patients controlled according to ABPM criteria (n = 30, BP during daytime <132/85 mm Hg) 17%, and in those controlled with both criteria (n = 16) 6% (p <0. 01). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the eccentric type of LVH is the prevalent pattern in chronically treated patients. The persistence of LVH is significantly dependent on BP levels achieved during treatment; indeed the prevalence of LVH is very low in patients with an optimal BP control, whereas it is elevated (37%) in uncontrolled patients.

Short-term reproducibility of nocturnal non-dipping pattern in recently diagnosed essential hypertensives.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate in a selected population of patients with a recently diagnosed essential hypertension the short-term intrasubject variability of diurnal changes in blood pressure (BP). METHODS: Two hundred and eight consecutive, recently diagnosed, never treated essential hypertensives (119 men, 89 women, 46 +/- 12 years) underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) twice within 3 weeks. Dipping pattern was defined as a reduction in average systolic and diastolic BP at night greater than 10% compared to average daytime values. RESULTS: 177 subjects (85%) showed no change in their diurnal variations in BP. Of the 159 subjects who had a dipping pattern on first ABPM, 134 (90.6%) confirmed this type of profile on the second ABPM, while 15 (9.4%) showed a non-dipping pattern. Of the 59 subjects who had a non-dipping pattern on the first ABPM, 43 (72.2%) confirmed their initial profile on the second ABPM, while 16 (28.8%) did not. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that short-term reproducibility of diurnal changes in BP in early phases of untreated essential hypertension, characterized by a large prevalence of dipping pattern, is overall satisfactory. However, our study underlines that also in this particularly selected population of hypertensives the definition of non-dipping status on the basis of a single ABPM remains unreliable in about one-third of patients.

Prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy and carotid thickening in a large selected hypertensive population: impact of different echocardiographic and ultrasonographic diagnostic criteria.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) represent independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of echocardiographic LVH and common carotid artery (CCA) intima-media (IM) thickening by different criteria in a large sample of hypertensive patients referred to our Hypertension Clinic. METHODS: Echocardiograms and ultrasonographic carotid examinations have been performed in 640 consecutive hypertensives referred to our outpatient's hypertension unit. LVH was diagnosed using six different criteria, when left ventricular mass index (LVMI) exceeded (a) 100 g/m2 in women and 120 g/m2 in men, (b) 110 g/m2 in women and 125 g/m2 in men, (c) 110 g/m2 in women and 134 g/m2 in men, (d) 125 g/m2 in both sexes, (e) 47 g/h2.7 in women and 51 g/h2.7 in men, (f) 105 g/h in women and 126 g/h in men. Thickening of CCA IM was identified using three partition values; when IMT was (a) > or =0.8 mm; (b) >0.9 mm: (c) > or = 1.0 mm in both sexes. RESULTS: Echocardiographic and ultrasonographic examinations of sufficient quality to be analysed were obtained in 611 patients (95.2%). Prevalence of LVH ranged from 18.6% (d) to 42.2% (f) and was significantly higher in men than in women by criteria (d) and (e), but slightly higher in women when using criteria (a) and (c). Eccentric hypertrophy was the most frequent type of LVH independently of the criteria used. Prevalence of IM thickening ranged from 14.7% (c) to 44.2% (a). Significant correlations between left ventricular mass (LVM)/body surface area, LVM/height and LVM/height2.7, and carotid IM thickness were found (r=0.41; p <0.0001; r=0.31; p <0.0001; r = 0.30; p <0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of LVH and CCA IM thickening in hypertensive patients is markedly dependent on the partition values used to define these markers of target organ damage. Considering the pivotal role of LVH and CCA IM thickening in assessing the global cardiovascular risk profile in hypertensives, improved standardization in defining LVH and carotid IM thickening is needed.