Accuracy of screening strategies for masked hypertension: a large-scale nationwide study based on home blood pressure monitoring.

This study compared the ability of guideline-proposed office blood pressure (OBP) screening thresholds [European Society of Hypertension (ESH) guidelines: 130/85 mmHg for individuals with an OBP < 140/90 mmHg; American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines: 120/75 mmHg for individuals with an OBP < 130/80 mmHg] and novel screening scores to identify normotensive individuals at high risk of having masked hypertension (MH) in an office setting. We cross-sectionally evaluated untreated participants with an OBP < 140/90 mmHg (n = 22,266) and an OBP < 130/80 mmHg (n = 10,005) who underwent home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) (derivation cohort) from 686 Brazilian sites. MH was defined according to criteria suggested by the ESH (OBP < 140/90 mmHg; HBPM ≥ 135/85 mmHg), Brazilian Society of Cardiology (BSC) (OBP < 140/90 mmHg; HBPM ≥ 130/80 mmHg) and ACC/AHA (OBP < 130/80 mmHg; HBPM ≥ 130/80 mmHg). Scores were generated from multivariable logistic regression coefficients between MH and clinical variables (OBP, age, sex, and BMI). Considering the ESH, BSC, and ACC/AHA criteria, 17.2%, 38.5%, and 21.2% of the participants had MH, respectively. Guideline-proposed OBP screening thresholds yielded area under curve (AUC) values of 0.640 (for ESH criteria), 0.641 (for BSC criteria), and 0.619 (for ACC/AHA criteria) for predicting MH, while scores presented as continuous variables or quartiles yielded AUC values of 0.700 and 0.688 (for ESH criteria), 0.720 and 0.709 (for BSC criteria), and 0.671 and 0.661 (for ACC/AHA criteria), respectively. Further analyses performed with alternative untreated participants (validation cohort; n = 2807 with an OBP < 140/90 mmHg; n = 1269 with an OBP < 130/80 mmHg) yielded similar AUC values. In conclusion, the accuracy of guideline-proposed OBP screening thresholds in identifying individuals at high risk of having MH in an office setting is limited and is inferior to that yielded by scores derived from simple clinical variables.

Discrepancies in the diagnosis of hypertension in adolescents according to available office and home high blood pressure criteria.

This study aimed at comparing the prevalence of abnormal blood pressure (BP) phenotypes among 241 adolescents referred for hypertension (15.4 ± 1.4 years, 62% males, 40% obese) according to mostly used or available criteria for hypertension [AAP or ESH criteria for high office BP (OBP); Arsakeion or Goiânia schools' criteria for high home BP monitoring (HBPM)]. High OBP prevalence was greater when defined by AAP compared with ESH criteria (43.5% vs. 24.5%; p < .001), while high HBPM prevalence was similar between Arsakeion and Goiânia criteria (33.5% and 37.5%; p = .34). Fifty-five percent of the sample fulfilled at least one criterion for high BP, but only 31% of this subsample accomplished all four criteria. Regardless of the HBPM criteria, AAP thresholds were associated with lower prevalence of normotension and masked hypertension and greater prevalence of white-coat and sustained hypertension than ESH thresholds. These findings support the need to standardize the definition of hypertension among adolescents.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood pressure control: a nationwide home blood pressure monitoring study.

There are concerns that hypertension control may decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on office blood pressure (OBP) and home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) control in a large Brazilian nationwide sample. The results of an adjusted spline analysis evaluating the trajectory of OBP and HBPM control from 01/Jan/2019 to 31/Dec/2020 among independent participants who were untreated (n = 24,227) or treated (n = 27,699) with antihypertensive medications showed a modest and transient improvement in OBP control among treated individuals, which was restricted to the early months following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Furthermore, slight reductions in OBP and HBPM values were detected in the early months following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak among treated (n = 987) participants for whom blood pressure measurements before and during the pandemic were available, but not among untreated (n = 495) participants. In conclusion, we found no major adverse influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on OBP and HBPM control in a large nationwide sample.

The impact of changing home blood pressure monitoring cutoff from 135/85 to 130/80 mmHg on hypertension phenotypes.

This study investigated the impact of changing abnormal home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) cutoff from 135/85 to 130/80 mmHg on the prevalence of hypertension phenotypes, considering an abnormal office blood pressure cutoff of 140/90 mmHg. We evaluated 57 768 individuals (26 876 untreated and 30 892 treated with antihypertensive medications) from 719 Brazilian centers who performed HBPM. Changing the HBPM cutoff was associated with increases in masked (from 10% to 22%) and sustained (from 27% to 35%) hypertension, and decreases in white-coat hypertension (from 16% to 7%) and normotension (from 47% to 36%) among untreated participants, and increases in masked (from 11% to 22%) and sustained (from 29% to 36%) uncontrolled hypertension, and decreases in white-coat uncontrolled hypertension (from 15% to 8%) and controlled hypertension (from 45% to 34%) among treated participants. In conclusion, adoption of an abnormal HBPM cutoff of 130/80 mmHg markedly increased the prevalence of out-of-office hypertension and uncontrolled hypertension phenotypes.

Prevalence of masked hypertension evaluated by home blood pressure monitoring in a large sample of patients with office blood pressure <140/90 mmHg.

AIM: Patients with masked hypertension have a higher incidence of target organ damage, including increased left ventricular mass and carotid atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events when compared with normotensive patients. The adverse cardiovascular risks are even greater in patients already taking antihypertensive medication. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence and clinical characteristics of masked hypertension in a large multicenter Brazilian sample that underwent office and home blood pressure monitoring. METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional analytical study based on secondary data from the teleMRPA online platform, which included 32 cities from 15 states in the five regions of Brazil. The database included 3704 outpatient participants with office blood pressure <140/90 mmHg who performed home blood pressure monitoring for diagnostic investigation (diagnosis group; n = 1819) or treatment (treatment group; n = 1885) of hypertension in 2018. RESULTS: The prevalence of masked hypertension was 18.0% in the whole studied population and 15.4% and 20.4% in the diagnostic and treatment group, respectively. Masked hypertension was more frequently detected in patients with office blood pressure classified as high normal [systolic blood pressure (SBP) = 130-139 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) = 85-89 mmHg], followed by those classified as normal (SBP = 120-129 mmHg or DBP = 80-84 mmHg) and optimal (SBP < 120 mmHg and DBP < 80 mmHg), with respective prevalence of 28.3, 13.4 and 4.4% in the diagnostic group and 30.8, 18.8 and 7.1% in the treatment group. CONCLUSION: Masked hypertension has a significant prevalence among individuals with office blood pressure <140/90 mmHg, which is greater with patients with high normal office blood pressure and even higher in patients already using antihypertensive medication.

Relationship between office isolated systolic or diastolic hypertension and white-coat hypertension across the age spectrum: a home blood pressure study.

OBJECTIVE: The current study investigated the prevalence of white-coat hypertension (WCH) and white-coat uncontrolled hypertension (WUCH) throughout the age spectrum among individuals with office isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) and systolic-diastolic hypertension (SDH) who were untreated or treated with antihypertensive medications, respectively. METHODS: We cross-sectionally evaluated 8809 untreated (42% males, 52.1 ±â€Š16.2 years) and 9136 treated (39% males, 59.7 ±â€Š14.5 years) individuals from two independent Brazilian populations who underwent home blood pressure monitoring. Participants were also categorized as younger (<40 years), intermediate (≥40 and <60 years) and older (≥60 years) age. RESULTS: Unadjusted and adjusted analyses showed that the frequency of WCH and WUCH was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in ISH and IDH than SDH at all age groups. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for sex, BMI and studied population showed that, compared with SDH, ISH had in average 4.1, 3.1 and 1.6-fold greater risk of WCH and 3.3, 3.6 and 2.0-fold greater risk of WUCH at younger, intermediate and older ages, whereas IDH had in average 2.3, 2.6 and 2.0-fold greater risk of WCH and 3.8, 3.2 and 3.8-fold greater risk of WUCH at younger, intermediate and older ages, respectively. CONCLUSION: ISH and IDH were associated with higher prevalence of WCH and WUCH than SDH across all age spectrum. In addition, treated and untreated ISH individuals with age less than 60 years and treated IDH individuals of all ages had the highest risk of having WCH phenotypes.

Blood pressure cutoffs for white-coat and masked effects in a large population undergoing home blood pressure monitoring.

The values used to define the presence of white-coat or masked blood pressure (BP) effects are arbitrary. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of several cutoff points based on the difference between office and home BP (ΔBP) values to detect white-coat uncontrolled (WUCH) and masked uncontrolled (MUCH) hypertension, which are phenotypes with adverse prognoses, in a large cohort of treated hypertensive patients. This multicenter cross-sectional study included 6,049 treated hypertensive patients (40% males, mean age 59.1 ± 14.4 years) who underwent office and home BP monitoring. We compared the sensitivity, specificity, area under curve (AUC), and positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values of several ΔBP cutoffs to detect WUCH and MUCH. The 15/9 mmHg cutoff, which reflects a 1.0 standard deviation of the ΔBP, showed the best AUC (0.783, 95% CI = 0.772-0.794) for the detection of WUCH, particularly in individuals with office grade 1 hypertension (AUC = 0.811, 95% CI = 0.793-0.829). The -1/-1 mmHg cutoff, which considers all individuals who had lower systolic or diastolic BP levels in the office than at home, had the highest AUC (0.822, 95% CI = 0.808-0.836) for the detection of MUCH. Both cutoff values also had the best performances for identifying all patients with higher and lower office-than-home BP grades. In conclusion, the 15/9 and -1/-1 mmHg cutoffs showed the best performance for the detection of treated hypertensive patients with WUCH and MUCH, respectively, and therefore might be markers of significant white-coat and masked effects and could be useful for identifying preferential targets for more routine home BP measures.

Avaliação da segurança e eficácia da combinação ramipril/ anlodipino versus anlodipino em monoterapia no tratamento da hipertensão arterial pela monitorização ambulatorial da pressão arterial: estudo ATAR-MAPA / Evaluation of security and efficiency of the combination ramipril/amlopidine versus amlopidine in monotherapy for the treatment of arterial hypertension by the outpatient monitoring of blood pressure: study ATAR-ABPM

O objetivo do estudo é comparar a eficácia e a tolerabilidade da combinação fixa ramipril/anlodipino e do anlodipino em monoterapia para o tratamento de hipertensão arterial. Após um período de duas semanas de retirada de anti-hipertensivos e uso de placebo (washout), 265 pacientes hipertensos com idades entre 40 e 79 anos foram randomizados para iniciar tratamento com 2,5/2,5 mg de ramipril/anlodipino em combinação fixa ou 2,5 mg de anlodipino, que foram titulados para 5/5 mg e 10/10 mg de ramipril/anlodipino, ou 5 e 10 mg de anlodipino, se necessário. No total, 131 pacientes foram randomizados para terapia combinada e 134 para monoterapia sem diferenças significativas entre os grupos nas características basais e nos níveis de pressão arterial (PA) inicial. A redução média da PA sistólica nos períodos do dia (20,36 ± 13,42 versus 15,86 ± 12,71 mmHg; p = 0,003) e da noite (17,6 ± 17,61 versus 14,09 ± 14,32 mmHg; p = 0,051), avaliada pela monitorização ambulatorial de pressão arterial (MAPA), foi significativamente maior no grupo tratamento com combinação fixa. A redução média da PA diastólica durante o dia à MAPA (11,28 ± 8,29 versus 8,96 ± 8,16 versus mmHg; p = 0,009) foi maior no grupo terapia combinada, mas não durante a noite (8,42 ± 11,16 mmHg versus 7,70 ± 8,63; p = 0,567). A redução média da PA sistólica e diastólica em 24 horas à MAPA também foi maior no grupo tratamento combinado. Ambas as opções terapêuticas promoveram redução significativa da PA sistólica e diastólica; porém, os resultados observados foram melhores no grupo de combinação fixa ramipril/anlodipino

This study aims to compare the efficacy and tolerability of a fixed-dose ramipril/amlodipine combination and amlodipine monotherapy for the treatment of hypertension. After a 2-week placebo washout, 265 hypertensive patients aged 40 to 79 years were randomized for 2.5/2.5 mg ramipril/amlodipine or 2.5 mg amlodipine, titrated to ramipril/amlodipine 5/5 mg and 10/10 mg , or amlodipine 5 and 10 mg, if necessary. A total of 131 patients were assigned to combination therapy, and 134 to monotherapy with no significant differences among them in basal characteristics and blood pressure (BP) levels at the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Mean reduction in daytime (20.36 ± 13.42 versus 15.86 ± 12.71 mmHg; p = 0.003) and night-time systolic BP on ABPM (17.6 ± 17.61 versus 14.09 ± 14.32 mmHg; p = 0.051) were significantly higher in the combination therapy. Mean daytime diastolic BP reduction on ABPM (11.28 ± 8.29 versus 8.96 ± 8.16 versus mmHg; p = 0.009) was greater in the combination group, but not at night-time (8.42 ± 11.16 mmHg versus 7.70 ± 8.63; p = 0.567). Mean change in 24-h systolic and diastolic BP on ABPM were also greater in the combination treatment. Both treatments promoted a marked reduction in systolic and diastolic BP, and the results observed were better in the ramipril/amlodipine combination group.

Influências da vitamina K em pacientes cardiopatas usuários de anticoagulantes orais e o gene CYP2C9 / Influence of vitamin K in cardiac patients taking oral anticoagulants and CYP2C9

As orientações nutricionais são restritivas quanto aos alimentos ricos em vitamina K com intuito de um controle adequado do International Normalized Ratio (INR). Avaliamos o consumo de alimentos ricos em vitamina K, sua relação com o nível sérico dessa vitamina e o INR de 66 pacientes cardiopatas usuários de varfarina. A idade média foi de 61 anos (DP = 11,71). O consumo de vitamina K foi abaixo do recomendado em 74% dos pacientes no RGA 7 dias. No QFA, o consumo de verduras e legumes verdes escuros era abaixo de três vezes por semana. Não encontramos relação no tipo de óleo consumido com os níveis séricos de vitamina K. A vitamina K plasmática observada foiu em média de 0,54 ng/mL. Não houve correlação entre a ingestão de vitamina K e o INR desses pacientes, assim como não houve diferença na ingestão ou dos níveis séricos em relação à idade. A orientação nutricional restritiva a alimentos ricos em vitamina K estava relacionada a níveis séricos abaixo dessa vitamina, sendo importante estabelecer a consequência dessa condição sobre outros aspectos da saúde desses pacientes. As variações observadas no INR desses pacientes foram independentes dos níveis séricos de vitamina K, sugerindo uma supervalorização da dieta como um fator desestabilizador. Confirmamos, no nosso estudo, que a proporção de pacientes com genótipo CYP2C9 é a esperada para a população. Porém, não encontramos diferença significativa na dose atual diária dos pacientes nos genótipos variantes do CYP2C9, assim como no INR.

Estudo aberto não-comparativo de avaliação de eficácia e tolerabilidade da combinação fixa de anlodipino e enalapril em uma única formulação galênica no tratamento da hipertensão arterial primária estágios 1 e 2 em pacientes idosos - subestudo do estudo EMBATES / An open-label, non-comparative study to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the fixed combination of amlodipine and enalapril in the treatment of stages 1 and 2 essential hypertension in elderly patients - sub-study of EMBATES trial

O objetivo deste estudo aberto, não-comparativo, multicêntrico, de 20 semanas, foi avaliar a eficácia e tolerabilidade da combinação fixa de anlodipino e enalapril em uma única formulação galênica, uma vez ao dia, em pacientes idosos (> 60 anos), com hipertensão arterial essencial leve à moderada. A eficácia antihipertensiva da combinação fixa foi avaliada considerando-se dois critérios diferentes de normalidade da pressão arterial: PAD ::; 90 mmHg (critério clássico) e PAD < 85 mmHg (novo critério). Métodos: Foram avaliados 29 pacientes com idade superior a 60 anos, de ambos os sexos, apresentando pressão arterial diastólica > 95 mmHg. Após quatro semanas de washout, os pacientes receberam a combinação fixa de anlodipino e enalapril, na dose de 2,5 x 10 mg, administrados em uma única tomada diária. Pacientes com níveis de pressão arterial diastólica igualou inferior a 90 mmHg eram mantidos nesta dose ao longo do estudo ou tinham suas doses de anlodipino e enalapril em combinação aumentadas para 5 x 10 mg ao dia ou 5 x 20 mg ao dia, a cada quatro semanas sempre que fosse detectado um valor para a pressão arterial diastólica acima de 90 mmHg. A duração total do tratamento ativo foi de 16 semanas. Os pacientes foram submetidos à avaliação adicional, através da monitorização residencial de pressão arterial (MRPA). Resultados: 24 pacientes (82,8 por cento) atingiram a meta de normalidade da pressão arterial pelo critério clássico (pAD < 90 mmHg) e 16 (55,2 por cento) pelo novo critério (PAD ::; 85 mmHg). As reduções pressóricas observadas foram de 168,7 :!::: 17,3 x 98,9 :!::: 3,1 mmHg (final do washout) para 138,5 :!::: 17,0 x 84,9 :!::: 7,6 mmHg (16 semanas de tratamento ativo), p < 0,00001. À MRPA, tanto a PAS, quanto a PAD sofreram reduções estatisticamente significativas (p < 0,0005). Os eventos adversos mais freqüentes foram tosse (oito ocorrências), edema (cinco ocorrências) e cefaléia (três ocorrências). Dos 58 eventos reportados, 12 (20,7 por cento) foram considerados relacionados ao medicamento em estudo. Conclusão: Os resultados mostraram que a combinação fixa de anlodipino e enalapril, em dose única diária, promoveu redução significativa da pressão arterial em pacientes idosos hipertensos leves a moderados. A avaliação da MRPA confirma a redução pressórica nos três diferentes períodos do dia. Finalmente, a combinação fixa de anlodipino e enalapril mostrou excelente perfil de tolerabilidade...

Two-year follow-up study of elderly residents in S. Paulo, Brazil: methodology and preliminary results

Estudos transversais recentes mostraram alta prevalência de doenças crônicas e incapacidades físicas entre idosos. Considerando o rápido processo de envelhecimento do Brasil e as conseqüências que esse aumento de idosos com doenças crônicas e incapacidades associadas acarretará para o sistema de saúde, fazia-se necessário estudo que pudesse superar as limitaçöes dos dados transversais, permitindo determinar quais os fatores determinantes de uma vida longa e livre de doenças incapacitantes, o chamado envelhecimento bem sucedido. É apresentada a metodologia do primeiro estudo epidemiológico longitudinal com idosos residentes na comunidade, no Brasil. O perfil do cohorte inicial é comparado com dados de estudos anteriores a com o perfil dos näo respondentes para avaliar a validade de análises longitudinais futuras. O projeto EPIDOSO (Epidemiologia do Idoso) seguiu por dois anos 1.667 idosos (65+), residentes em Säo Paulo. Consistiu de duas ondas, cada qual com três inquéritos: domiciliar, clínico e laboratorial. O perfil da populaçäo näo diferiu de estudos anteriores, mostrando maioria de mulheres, viúvas, vivendo em domicílios multigeracionais, com uma alta prevalência de doenças crônicas, distúrbios psiquiátricos e incapacidades físicas. A despeito de todas as dificuldades inerentes a um estudo longitudinal, o grupo de näo-respondentes ao segundo inquérito domiciliar näo diferiu significativamente dos respondentes, assegurando análises longitudinais livres desse tipo de viés. Em relaçäo aos inquéritos clínico e laboratorial, os näo-respondentes mostraram-se mais velhos e mais incapacitados que os respondentes, limitando o uso dos dados clínicos e laboratoriais a análises pertinentes a uma cohorte mais jovem e saudável. Sexo, educaçäo, apoio familiar e nível socioeconômico näo influenciaram de forma significativa a taxa de näo-resposta, ao contrário do que se costuma verificar