IMPAIRED BARORECEPTOR SENSITIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED COMMON CAROTID ARTERY INTIMA-MEDIA THICKNESS IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS: PP.2.88

Abstract

Objective: Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that hypertension, even in early stages, is associated with impaired baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS). Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) represents a surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. Aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between BRS and CCA-IMT in hypertensive subjects. Design and Method: A total of 15 untreated hypertensive patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring and carotid ultrasonographic measurements. All patients underwent a 15-min electrocardiographic and non-invasive BP monitoring (Finometer). Cardiac BRS was calculated from the combined a-index. Subjects with daytime ambulatory BP values more than 135/85 mmHg were defined as hypertensives. Statistical analysis was performed by means of bivariate correlations. Results: The mean age of the study population was 52 ± 11 years. The mean daytime systolic and diastolic ambulatory BP values were 145 ± 13 mmHg and 90 ± 9 mmHg, respectively. The CCA-IMT was 0.71 ± 0.16 mm and the combined a-index was 3.32 ± 1.60 ms/mmHg. CCA-IMT values were significantly correlated with the combined a-index (r = −0.590, p = 0.021). Conclusions: Our finding suggests that impaired BRS is significantly correlated with increased CCA-IMT values in hypertensive patients.