The impact of central blood pressure levels on the relationship between oscillometric and central blood pressure measurements: a multicenter invasive study.

The aim of this study was to investigate impact of central blood pressure (BP) levels and sex on the difference between central and upper arm oscillometric BP values. Oscillometric arterial BP measurements of 675 patients were simultaneously compared with values measured from the ascending aorta. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to systolic BP levels. The upper arm oscillometric device overestimated systolic BP (SBP) at low and medium BP levels but it underestimated SBP at high BP level. As for the effect of sex on differences in central and oscillometric BP, SBP was overestimated to a lesser degree in women than in men at low BP levels, but it was more highly underestimated in women than in men at high BP levels. The difference between oscillometric upper arm BP and aortic BP was directly affected by the patient's central BP level. In addition, the difference between central and oscillometric BP was also affected by sex factor.

Relationship between systolic myocardial velocity obtained by tissue Doppler imaging and left ventricular ejection fraction: systolic myocardial velocity predicts the degree of left ventricular dysfunction in heart failure.

This study was planned to research the relationship between systolic myocardial velocity (Sm) obtained by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measured according to conventional Simpson's method in healthy subjects and patients with heart failure (HF). Two hundred eight patients with HF whose LVEF < 50% (mean age 59 +/- 11 years) and 187 healthy subjects (mean age 57 +/- 11 years) were enrolled in this study. LVEF was measured and TDI recordings were obtained at the septal, lateral, inferior, and anterior of the mitral annulus, and Sm was measured. LV mean Sm was calculated. In patients with HF, a significant correlation was detected between LVEF and Sm (r = 0.71, P < 0.0001), while no relationship was found between these parameters in healthy subjects (r = 0.16, not significant). The cutoff value of Sm < 8 cm/s for identifying patients with LVEF between 30% and 49% had a sensitivity of 86%, a specificity of 93%, and a negative predictive value of 92%, and the cutoff value of Sm < 6.0 cm/s for identifying patients with LVEF < 30% had a sensitivity of 92%, a specificity of 84%, and a negative predictive value of 97%. The time required to calculate the LVEF was significantly longer than that of LV mean Sm (327 +/- 98 sec vs. 110 +/- 29 sec, P < 0.0001), and LVEF had higher inter- and intraobserver variability. LV mean Sm obtained by TDI, a parameter that is reproducible, easily obtained, reliable, and practical, can be used to evaluate LV systolic function in patients with HF.