Clinical, target organ damage and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring characteristics in older adults with high-risk hypertension

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the clinical characteristics, target organ damage subclinical, and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in older adults with high-risk hypertension. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 96 older adults (≥ 60 years old) with treated high-risk HTN. The patients were performed with 24-hour ABPM. Results: The mean age was 70.88 ± 7.86 years, and 64.6% females. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors included dyslipidemia - 80.2%, physical inactivity - 69.8%, family history of hypertension - 54.2%, diabetes mellitus - 51.0%, obesity - 29.2%, and smoking - 24%. The target organ damage had occurred in 63.5% of the patients, with 51% having left ventricular hypertrophy on echocardiography, 11.5% showing serum creatinine levels ≥ 115 µmol/l, and 26.1% with proteinuria. On ABPM, the prevalence was as follows: uncontrolled masked hypertension - 12.5%, morning blood pressure (BP) - 40.6%, nocturnal dipping - 13.5%, non-dipping - 53.1%, nocturnal hypertension - 33.3%, isolated systolic hypertension - 37.5%. Daytime BP overload - 60.4%, nighttime BP overload - 90.6%, 50% daytime BP overload - 41.7%, 50% BP overload - 75%. Conclusions: Older adults with high-risk hypertension exhibit a high prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The target organ damage observed in approximately 2/3 of cases. Morning BP, isolated systolic hypertension, and nocturnal hypertension were presented in over 1/3 of cases. Non-dipping observed in over 1/2 of cases. Daytime BP overload observed in in nearly 2/3 of cases, with most patients experiencing nighttime BP overload. Key words: 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, clinical characteristics, high-risk hypertension, older adults.