Association of morning blood pressure surge with carotid intima-media thickness and cardiac dysfunction in patients with cardiac syndrome-X

Abstract

Background & hypothesis: We hypothesized that exaggerated morning blood pressure surge, may contribute in cardiac dysfunction and arterial stiffness in patients with cardiac syndrome X. Thus we investigated the impact of morning blood pressure surge on cardiac function and carotid intima-media thickness in subjects with cardiac syndrome X.Methods: We studied patients with cardiac syndrome X using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and investigated the association of morning blood pressure surge with carotid intima thickness, left atrial volume index and left ventricular filling (E/e'). Seventy patients with cardiac syndrome X were enrolled for the study and compared with 70 age and sex matched controls.Results: Patients with cardiac syndrome X were stratified based on the systolic morning blood pressure surge value of control subjects to patients with exaggerated blood pressure surge (n = 42) and those with normal morning blood pressure surge (n = 28). Basal heart rate (p < .05), high sensitive C-reactive protein (p < .01), left atrial volume index (p < .01), E/e' (p < .01); carotid intima-media thickness (p < .001) and percentage of detected plaque (p < .005) were significantly higher in patients with exaggerated morning blood pressure surge group than those with morning blood pressure surge group. Morning blood pressure surge was significantly correlated with carotid intima-media thickness, high sensitive C-reactive protein, left atrial volume index and E/e' ratio in patients with cardiac syndrome X. In multivariate analysis, exaggerated morning blood pressure surge was the only independent predictor of increased carotid intima-media thickness (OR = 2.379; p < .001), and diastolic dysfunction (OR = 2.464; p < .001) in patients with cardiac syndrome X.Conclusion: Our data suggest that excessive morning blood pressure surge is an independent predictor for arterial stiffness and diastolic dysfunction in patients with cardiac syndrome X.