Relationship Between the Progression of Coronary Artery Disease and Pulse Pressure Index: A Cross-Sectional Work.

Abstract

This study sought to analyze the relationship between pulse pressure (PP) index (PPI) (PP/systolic blood pressure; a less variable and objective form of PP) and coronary artery disease (CAD) progression. A registry of 193 patients was evaluated to show CAD progression by comparing current vs previous (6months to 3years prior) angiograms. One day after the second angiogram, we conducted ambulatory blood pressure measurements on the patients. Of the 193 patients, 65 (34%) had CAD progression. The PP and PPI were significantly higher in the progression than in the non-progression group (55 ± 12 vs. 51 ± 10 mmHg, P = .02 and .47 ± .06 vs. .42 ± .05, P = .004, respectively). Also, the PP and PPI were independently predictive of CAD progression (OR = 1.03, P = .03 and OR = 6.47, P = .01, respectively). Moreover, the correlation of PPI with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glycosylated hemoglobin was greater than their correlation with PP. In addition, PPI predicted CAD progression better than PP (area under the curve [AUC] = .649 vs. .574, P = .03). Elevated PP and PPI may be associated with the progression of CAD. PPI seems more successful in predicting CAD progression than PP.