[OP.7D.07] 24-HOUR CENTRAL BLOOD PRESSURE IS BETTER ASSOCIATED WITH TARGET ORGAN DAMAGE OF HYPERTENSION THAN BRACHIAL BLOOD PRESSURE

Objective: The VASOTENS international, multicenter, observational, non-randomized, prospective study aims at evaluating the impact of 24-hour pulse wave analysis of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) recordings on target organ damage and cardiovascular prognosis of hypertensive patients. In the present analysis of study baseline data we checked whether organ damage of hypertension i) is better associated with 24-hour central than peripheral BP and ii) is related to ambulatory arterial stiffness, estimated by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx). Design and method: In 334 hypertensive patients (mean age 53+/-15, 52% males, 45% treated) we obtained 24-hour ABPMs, echocardiograms, carotid ultrasonograms and serum creatinine. Hypertensive organ damage was estimated by calculation of left ventricular mass index (LVMI, cardiac damage), intima-media thickness (IMT, vascular damage) and creatinine clearance (CC, renal damage). 24-hour hemodynamics and stiffness were estimated through the validated VASOTENS technology, based on transfer function analysis of brachial oscillograms. 24-hour brachial (bSBP) and aortic systolic BP (aSBP), standard deviation of bSBP, PWV and AIx were obtained. Relation of vascular indices with LVMI, IMT and CC was evaluated by bivariate and multivariate analysis (stepwise linear regression analysis). Results: In the bivariate analysis a statistically significant relation was found for age, bSBP and aSBP vs. LVMI and IMT (see table, correlation coefficients or r). IMT was also significantly related to SBP variability and arterial stiffness, whereas increasing age, SBP variability and AIx were significantly associated with a decline of renal function.