22 research outputs found
Isolated clinic hypertension is not an innocent phenomenon - Effect on the carotid artery structure
This study examines the common carotid intimalmedial wall thickness
(CCA-IMT) in untreated patients with elevated clinic blood pressure (BP)
but normal ambulatory BP (isolated clinic hypertension, n = 22), in
comparison with a group with elevated clinic and ambulatory BP
(hypertensives, n = 41) and a group with normal clinic and ambulatory BP
(normotensives, n = 17) readings. The three groups did not differ in
age, male/female ratio, lipid profile, glucose tolerance test, or
smoking habits.
No difference existed in CCA-IMT values between the groups with
hypertension (0.67 +/- 0.18 mm) and isolated clinic hypertension (0.68
+/- 0.14 mm), but the values in these two groups were significantly
higher tone-way ANOVA; F = 8.09, P < .001) than in the group of
normotensives (0.50 +/- 0.09 mm). The CCA-IMT did not correlate with
clinic systolic or diastolic BP readings or with BP derivatives of 24-h
ambulatory monitoring. Mean 24-h BP in the isolated clinic hypertensives
did not differ from that in the normotensives, whereas both were lower
than in the hypertensives.
We conclude that changes in the CCA-IMT occuring in subjects with
isolated clinic hypertension are equal to the changes in sustained
hypertension, indicating that isolated clinic hypertension may not be a
benign condition. (C) 1999 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd