Loro Associazioni Research Articles

The Relationship Between Aortic Root Size and Hypertension: An Unsolved Conundrum.

Thoracic aortic aneurysms rupture and dissection are among the most devastating vascular diseases, being characterized by elevated mortality, despite improvements in diagnostic imaging and surgical techniques.An increased aortic root diameter (ARD) represents the main risk factor for thoracic aortic dissection and rupture and for aortic valve regurgitation.Even though arterial hypertension is commonly regarded as a predisposing condition for the development of thoracic aorta aneurysms, the role of blood pressure (BP) as determinant of aortic root enlargement is still controversial. The use of different methods for indexation of ARD may have in part contributed to the heterogeneous findings obtained in the investigations exploring the relationships between ARD and BP. Indeed, the best methods for ARD indexation, as well as the normal values of aortic root size, are still a matter of debate.Several non-hemodynamic factors influence ARD, including age, gender, and anthropometric variables, such as height, weight and their derivatives body surface area (BSA) and body mass index. Of these factors, anthropometric variables have the greatest impact.Several studies documented an association between ARD enlargement, assessed by echocardiography, and some indices of hypertensive target organ damage such as left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and carotid intima-media thickening. Recently, we found that ARD, expressed either as absolute values or normalized for BSA (ARD/BSA) or height (ARD/H), was significantly greater in hypertensive subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) when compared to their counterparts with normal renal function. Moreover, at univariate analyses estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) showed significant inverse correlations with ARD not indexed and with ARD/BSA and ARD/H. Taking into account the effect of age, sex, duration of hypertension and other potentially confounding factors, in multiple regression analyses, only the association of GFR with ARD/H and that between GFR and ARD/BSA remained statistically significant. The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that an estimated GFR of about 50ml/min/1.73m2 represents the better threshold to distinguish hypertensive patients with dilated aortic root from those with a normal one.Some population-based studies showed that an enlarged ARD might predict an adverse prognosis, even in absence of aneurysmatic alterations.In the Cardiovascular Health Study, a dilated aortic root was independently associated with an increased risk for stroke, cardiovascular and total mortality in both sexes and with incident congestive heart failure only in men. The relationship between ARD and heart failure has been observed also in the Framingham Heart Study. More recently, the PAMELA (Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni) study demonstrated an independent relationship of ARD/H with incident cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Although the relationship between BP and aortic root size is still a matter of debate, increasing evidence seems to support the notion that aortic root dilatation, even in absence of aneurysmatic alterations, may be regarded as an hypertensive organ damage paralleling other preclinical markers whose unfavourable prognostic significance is firmly established. Future studies are needed to assess whether or not antihypertensive therapy is able to reduce aortic root dimension and the increased risk associated with its enlargement.

Risk of mortality in relation to an updated classification of left ventricular geometric abnormalities in a general population: the Pamela study.

We estimated the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality associated with left ventricular geometric patterns, as defined by a new classification system proposed by the Dallas Heart Study, in 1716 representatives of the general population of Monza enrolled in the Pressioni Monitorate e Loro Associazioni (PAMELA) study. Cut-points for abnormal left ventricular geometric patterns were derived from reference values of the healthy fraction of the PAMELA population by combining left ventricular mass (LVM) index, left ventricular diameter and relative wall thickness. Death certificates were collected over an average 211 months follow-up period. During follow-up, 89 fatal cardiovascular events and 264 all-cause deaths were recorded. Concentric remodelling was the most common left ventricular geometric abnormality (9.4%) followed by eccentric nondilated left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (6.3%), concentric LVH (4.6%) and eccentric dilated LVH (3.5%). Compared with normal left ventricular geometry, concentric LVH [hazard ratio 2.20, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.44-3.37, P < 0.0003], eccentric dilated LVH (hazard ratio 1.90, 95% CI 1.17-3.08, P = 0.009) and eccentric nondilated LVH (hazard ratio 1.57, 95% CI 1.07-2.31, P = 0.02) predicted the risk of cardiovascular mortality, after adjustment for baseline covariates, including ambulatory blood pressure. Similar findings were observed for all-cause mortality. Only concentric LVH maintained a significant prognostic value for both outcomes after adjustment for baseline differences in LVM index. The new classification system of left ventricular geometric patterns may improve mortality risk stratification in a general population. The risk is markedly dependent on LVM values; only concentric LVH provides a prognostic information beyond that conveyed by cardiac mass.

Does QRS Voltage Correction by Body Mass Index Improve the Accuracy of Electrocardiography in Detecting Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Predicting Cardiovascular Events in a General Population?

The authors assessed the value of body mass index (BMI) correction of two electrocardiographic criteria in improving detection of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and prediction of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the Italian study Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni (PAMELA) population. At entry, 1549 patients underwent diagnostic tests, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring, standard electrocardiography, and echocardiography. The BMI-corrected Cornell voltage and Sokolow-Lyon voltage criteria provided better results for detection of echocardiographic LVH as compared with unadjusted electrocardiographic parameters. Cornell voltage index, but not Sokolow-Lyon index, was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events (and all-cause mortality). The adjusted risk of cardiovascular events related to one-standard deviation increment of BMI-corrected Cornell voltage was similar to that conferred by the uncorrected criterion in the total population, but outperformed in obese participants. These findings show that correction for BMI may improve the diagnostic accuracy of Cornell voltage index in detecting LVH and prediction of cardiovascular mortality in obese individuals.

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Objective: We estimated the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality associated with left ventricular (LV) geometric patterns, as defined by a new classification system proposed by the Dallas Heart Study, in 1716 representatives of the general population of Monza enrolled in the Pressioni Monitorate e Loro Associazioni (PAMELA) study. Design and method: Cut-points for abnormal LV geometric patterns were derived from reference values of the healthy fraction of the PAMELA population by combining LV mass (LVM) index, LV diameter and relative wall thickness. Death certificates were collected over an average 211 months follow-up period. Results: During follow-up, 89 fatal cardiovascular events and 264 all-cause deaths were recorded. Concentric remodeling (CR) was the most common LV geometric abnormality (9.4%) followed by eccentric non-dilated LVH (6.3%), concentric LVH (4.6%) and dilated LVH (3.5%). Compared to normal LV geometry, concentric LVH (HR = 4.04, 95% CI: 2.05–7.97, p < 0.0001), dilated LVH (HR = 3.83, 95% CI: 1.93–7.60, p = 0.0001) and eccentric non-dilated LVH (HR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.39–4.92, p = 0.003) predicted the risk of cardiovascular mortality, after adjustment for baseline covariates, including ambulatory blood pressure. Similar findings were observed for all-cause mortality. Only concentric LVH maintained a significant prognostic value for both outcomes after adjustment for baseline differences in LVM index. Conclusions: The new classification system of LV geometric patterns, may improve mortality risk stratification in a general population. The risk is markedly dependent on LVM values; only concentric LVH provides a prognostic information beyond that conveyed by cardiac mass.

Prognosis in Relation to Blood Pressure Variability

Prognosis in Relation to Blood Pressure Variability

Prognostic value of left ventricular mass normalized to different body size indexes: findings from the PAMELA population.

We estimated the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as assessed by left ventricular mass (LVM), normalized by various indexation methods in 1716 representatives of the general population of Monza, enrolled in the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study. LVH was defined according to four sex-specific criteria derived from the upper limits of normality for LVM index in the healthy normotensive fraction of the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni population. Death certificates were collected over an average 211 months of follow-up. During follow-up, 89 fatal cardiovascular events and 264 all-cause deaths were observed. LVH prevalence rates in the whole population ranged from 14.2% [LVM/body surface area (BSA)] to 18.0% (LVM/height). Adjusted risk (for baseline covariates, including ambulatory blood pressure) of cardiovascular mortality was increased in patients with LVH, regardless of the indexation type: LVH/BSA [hazard ratio 3.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.02-5.06, P < 0.0001], LVH/height (hazard ratio 2.39, 95% CI 1.51-3.78, P = 0.0002), LVH/height (hazard ratio 2.38, 95% CI 1.50-3.76, P = 0.0002), LVH/height (hazard ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.44-3.60 P = 0.0004). Similar findings were observed for all-cause mortality and when LVM was assessed as a continuous variable. The fraction of patients (5%) classified into the LVH group by height, but not by BSA, had a mild increased LVM index and showed no increased risk. LVH, irrespective of indexation methods for LVM, confers an increased risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the general population. LVH, detected by height-based indexes, but not by BSA-based criteria, was not associated with increased mortality; this finding, however, was based on a small group of patients and will deserve further investigations.

Prognostic significance of left atrial enlargement in a general population: results of the PAMELA study.

We estimated the risk of cardiovascular events, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality associated with left atrium (LA) enlargement alone or combined with echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in 1785 representatives of the general population of Monza recruited for the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni (PAMELA) study. LA enlargement was assessed by measuring LA diameter via echocardiography. LA enlargement was defined as a LA diameter>2.3 cm/m2, whereas LVH was defined as a left ventricular mass index≥114 g/m2 and 99 g/m2 in men and women, respectively. Death certificates and hospital diagnoses were collected over an average 148 months follow-up. During follow-up, there were 175 deaths (of which 59 for cardiovascular causes) and 139 cardiovascular fatal and nonfatal events. Compared with subjects with neither LA enlargement nor LVH, subjects with isolated LA enlargement exhibited a significant increase in the adjusted risk of combined fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 2.0; confidence interval, 1-4.1; P=0.04), although not of cardiovascular death or all-cause death. The adjusted (for baseline covariates, including ambulatory blood pressure) risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, cardiovascular death, and all-cause death was significantly increased also in subjects with isolated LVH (hazard ratio, 2.2, 3.4, 2.1, respectively; P=0.001 for all), whereas no further increase was seen in subjects with both LA and left ventricular abnormalities. Thus, like LVH, LA enlargement is an independent long-term predictor of cardiovascular events. The cardiovascular risk, however, is not further increased when LA enlargement is superimposed on an increase of LV mass.

Aortic root diameter and risk of cardiovascular events in a general population: data from the PAMELA study.

Data on the association of aortic root diameter (ARD), as assessed by echocardiography, with incident cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population, are scanty and limited to elderly individuals. Thus, we investigated the value of ARD in predicting cardiovascular events in the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni population. At entry, 1860 participants (mean age 50 ± 14, 50.6% men) underwent diagnostic tests including laboratory investigations, office and out-of-office blood pressure (BP) measurements (home and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring), and echocardiography. ARD was measured at the level of Valsalva's sinuses and indexed to body surface area and height. Over a follow-up of 148 months, 137 nonfatal or fatal cardiovascular events were documented. After adjustment for age, sex, BP, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, smoking status, previous cardiovascular disease, and use of antihypertensive drugs, ARD/height [hazard ratio for 1 unit increase = 2.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-5.75, P = 0.01], but not absolute ARD (hazard ratio 1.44, 95% CI 0.89-2.39, P = 0.13) neither ARD/body surface area (hazard ratio 2.09, 95% CI 0.96-4.55, P = 0.06) predicted the increased risk of cardiovascular events. The association between left ventricular hypertrophy and AR dilatation was a stronger predictor of cardiovascular prognosis than left ventricular hypertrophy alone. Our results for the first time show that ARD indexed to height is predictive of incident nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular events among middle-aged individuals in the community and support the view that assessment of ARD in addition to left ventricular mass may refine cardiovascular risk stratification and preventive strategies in the general population.

Prognostic value of serum uric acid

Serum uric acid (SUA) has been associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, but no conclusive evidence exists on whether it is an independent risk factor or a reflection of other risk factors to which it is related. We examined the relationship of SUA with a number of cardiovascular variables [including risk factors never evaluated before, such as organ damage and out-of-office blood pressure (BP)], as well as its prognostic relevance in the population. In 2045 participants of the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study, we measured, along with SUA, metabolic, renal, and anthropometric variables, left-ventricular mass index, and office, home and ambulatory BP. Cardiovascular and all-cause mortality was assessed over a 16-year follow-up period, and measurements were repeated 10 years after the initial data collection. Baseline SUA had a near-normal distribution, with a mean value of 4.9 ± 1.3 (SD) mg/dl and a significant direct relationship with BP and metabolic variables, serum creatinine and left-ventricular mass index. It was among the factors independently predicting new-onset home and ambulatory hypertension, the increased risk of developing these conditions for 1 mg/dl increase of SUA after adjustment for all available potential confounders being 34 and 29%, respectively (P = 0.015 and P = 0.014). An increase in SUA of 1 mg/dl also independently predicted cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, the fully adjusted increase in risk being 22% (P = 0.03) and 12% (P = 0.04), respectively. In the general population of the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study, SUA correlated with a number of cardiovascular risk factors. Nevertheless, it independently predicts new-onset out-of-office hypertension, and long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

White-Coat Hypertension

> Two statisticians meet . > > -How do you do? > > -How do I do? Compared to whom? > > — Anonymous Thomas Pickering coined the term white-coat hypertension to denote individuals who were not on treatment for hypertension but who had elevated office blood pressure and normal daytime blood pressure measured with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Clearly, these individuals would be at low cardiovascular risk.1 The traditional definition of white-coat hypertension is based, therefore, on an elevated office blood pressure with a normal blood pressure during the awake period with ABPM. However, because of the contribution of asleep blood pressure as a predictor of outcome, it seems counterproductive to exclude this period from consideration. The most recent European guidelines2 propose, therefore, an alternative definition of white-coat hypertension, which encompasses subjects with office systolic/diastolic blood pressure readings of ≥140/90 mm Hg and a 24-hour blood pressure <130/80 mm Hg. The purpose of this review is to provide new insights into the characteristics, definitions, and cardiovascular risk assessment in persons with white-coat hypertension, and it will be limited primarily to ABPM with a primary focus on prospective studies. ### Prevalence and Diagnosis White-coat hypertension occurs in 15% to 30% of subjects with an elevated office blood pressure,2,3 and the phenomenon is reasonably reproducible.2,4 Although there are no pathognomonic diagnostic features of white-coat hypertension, this condition occurs more frequently in women, older adults, nonsmokers, recently diagnosed patients with hypertension with a limited number of conventional blood pressure measurements in the office setting who have mild hypertension, pregnant women, and subjects without evidence of target organ damage.2,5,6 The misdiagnosis of subjects with white-coat hypertension as being truly hypertensive can result in them being penalized for employment and insurance rating, as well as being prescribed unnecessary lifelong treatment with potential side …

Nighttime Blood Pressure and New-Onset Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

The relationship between circadian blood pressure (BP) variations and the extent of subclinical cardiac organ damage is still debated. In a general population, we investigated the association of night-to-day BP fall, as well as nocturnal BP level (mean and lowest values), with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and the value of both BP parameters in predicting new-onset LV hypertrophy. Office BP, 24-hour ambulatory BP values, and laboratory investigations were assessed on entry in 1682 subjects (50.2% men; mean age, 50.2±13.7 years) of the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni. Echocardiographic LV mass was measured at the initial evaluation and 10 years later. Multiple regression analyses, including daytime systolic BP (SBP), age, sex, and body mass index, showed that the lowest SBP level and the extent of nocturnal SBP decline were independently related to baseline LV mass. After adjustment for several confounders, both mean nocturnal SBP (relative risk for each 10-mm Hg increase in SBP, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.23; P &lt;0.0001) and the lowest SBP level (relative risk for each 10-mm Hg increase in SBP, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.19; P =0.01) were independent predictors of new-onset LV hypertrophy. This was not the case for the magnitude of nighttime SBP fall (hazard ratio for each 10% decrease in SBP, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.80–1.04; P =0.18). In a general population, nighttime BP level rather than the nocturnal BP decline may be regarded as a reliable parameter for predicting the development of LV hypertrophy in subjects with normal LV mass. This finding may have important implications for optimizing cardiovascular prevention in the general population.

The Pamela Study: Main Findings and Perspectives

PAMELA (Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni) is an epidemiological study, originally designed to determine the normality of home and ambulatory blood pressure values. The study was performed on 3,200 subjects, aged 25 to 74 years, randomly selected from the general population of Monza (Milan, Italy). In the study context we performed clinical, home and ambulatory blood pressure measurements, echocardiographic assessment of cardiac structure and function as well as laboratory examinations (glucose and lipids). Personal and family histories were collected. The same procedures were repeated 10 years later. During a 12-year follow-up, the incident cardiovascular events were validated. Cardiovascular and all-cause fatal events were collected for a 16-year follow-up. This article will review the main results of the PAMELA study, with particular emphasis on (1) the prognostic value of the different blood pressure measurements, (2) the relationships between metabolic variables and blood pressure and (3) the clinical relevance and prognostic importance of left ventricular mass values and alterations.

Normal values of left-ventricular mass

Upper reference values of echocardiographic left-ventricular mass in the European population are based on scanty data mostly derived from northern European population-based samples. Furthermore, data in apparently healthy populations have included individuals with conditions affecting left-ventricular mass such as obesity, diabetes and masked hypertension. Thus, from 1051 individuals with normal office blood pressure (BP) belonging to the PAMELA (Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni) study population, we selected a group of 675 sustained normotensive individuals in order to provide reliable echocardiographic reference values for defining the criteria of left-ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The study group (women 58%, mean age 42 ± 11 years) was identified after excluding individuals with isolated home or ambulatory hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and echocardiographic examinations of insufficient quality to evaluate left-ventricular mass. Sex-specific upper limits of normality [mean + 1.96 standard deviation (SD)] for left-ventricular mass, left-ventricular mass indexed to body surface area, heightand height were the following: 213 g, 114 g/m, 51 g/h, 123 g/h in men and 161 g, 99 g/m, 47 g/h, 101 g/h in women. In multivariate analyses, body size measures and ambulatory BP levels were the most important correlates of left-ventricular mass. Our investigation by providing upper reference limits of left-ventricular mass in a southern European population sample, carefully selected after exclusion of a large number of conditions affecting left-ventricular mass, may offer a contribution for revising diagnostic criteria of echocardiographic LVH currently recommended by European hypertension guidelines.

The morning blood pressure surge

The morning blood pressure surge

Association between ADRA1A gene and the metabolic syndrome: candidate genes and functional counterpart in the PAMELA population

There is currently uncertainty about whether metabolic syndrome has a common underlying process. We performed a gene-centric association study of metabolic syndrome in 98 major cardiometabolic genes in the large, well phenotyped Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate e Loro Associazioni (PAMELA) study. We followed this with functional studies to elucidate a possible mechanism for the top association signal. From the PAMELA cohort, we sampled 1407 individuals with information on the metabolic syndrome (ATPIII criteria). We analyzed 1324 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 98 candidate genes selected, based on known pathways involved in sympathetic nervous system, oxidative stress, renin-angiotensin system and sodium balance. The SNP rs17055869 near the alpha-1A-adrenoreceptor gene (ADRA1A) showed the strongest association with metabolic syndrome (odds ratio 1.7, CI 1.3-2.2; P = 0.00007, P = 0.000098 after permutation). In order to determine a functional basis for this association, we examined in a subgroup of metabolic syndrome patients whether the allelic distribution of the above-mentioned gene is different according to the different degree of the metabolic syndrome-related sympathetic activation, directly assessed by the gold standard method to assess neuroadrenergic drive, that is microneurographic recording of efferent postganglionic muscle sympathetic nerve traffic. All metabolic syndrome patients with a lesser degree of sympathetic activation were homozygous for the major allele (C), whereas those with a very pronounced sympathetic overdrive had an over-representation of the minor T allele (P < 0.0001). Thus, the rs17055869 SNP near the 3' end of ADRA1A is significantly associated with metabolic syndrome and it may be involved in determining a greater level of sympathetic activation in metabolic syndrome patients.

Evaluation of How Gene-Job Strain Interaction Affects Blood Pressure in the PAMELA Study

To see whether there is interaction between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) belonging to candidate genes for hypertension and job strain and its components (job demand and job control) in an accurately phenotyped Italian cohort (Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni). From the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni cohort, we sampled 924 employed men and women who had completed a modified version of the Karasek questionnaire and for whom deoxyribonucleic acid information was available. We selected 1,510 common tagging and putative functional SNPs in 92 candidate autosomal genes involved in sympathetic nervous system, oxidative stress, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, and sodium balance. The interaction of each candidate SNP with the perceived job stress scores on ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressures was evaluated by adding product terms to a multiple regression linear model, adjusted for sex, age, total cholesterol, and body mass index. Among all the SNPs tested, the interaction of SNP rs11210278 located on the endothelin 2 gene and job control was statistically significant after controlling for multiple testing, using false discovery rate (unadjusted p = .00000661; p adjusted for false discovery rate = .0085), indicating an inverse association with systolic blood pressure for the homozygous wild-type allele (C/C) and a positive association for the variant genotypes (C/T and T/T). We show that the hypertensive response to job strain is present only in carriers of the rs11210278 wild-type genotype. The phenomenon is discussed in relationship to the controversial results of field studies on job strain and hypertension.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in diabetic patients: new data, new questions

Introduction For practical reasons, blood pressure values measured by physicians or nurses in a medical environment remain the clinical basis of the diagnosis and management of arterial hypertension around the world as recommended by all guidelines [1–4]. Nevertheless, measurements of blood pressure outside the office have gained an increasing popularity over the last decades not only to ascertain the diagnosis of hypertension but also to follow the impact of therapeutic interventions. Out-of-office blood pressure measurements can be obtained either by 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring or by home blood pressure monitoring. As reviewed recently [5], both sets of out-of-office blood pressure offer undeniable advantages when compared to office blood pressure. First, both ambulatory blood pressure and home blood pressure monitoring provide more reliable and reproducible information on blood pressure. Second, blood pressure values obtained by ambulatory blood pressure and home blood pressure monitoring appear to be more closely related to target organ damage than office blood pressure and hence have a greater prognostic relevance than office blood pressure. Third, certain diagnosis such as white coat hypertension and masked hypertension can only be diagnosed using out-of-office blood pressure measurements. Fourth, when used in the clinical follow-up of treated hypertensive patients to evaluate the impact of drug treatment, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as well as home blood pressure monitoring has the advantage of not being affected by a placebo effect. Finally, evidence has been provided that treatmentinduced reduction in 24-h blood pressure may predict better than office blood pressure the regression of end organ damage (particularly the cardiac one) induced by antihypertensive drug. Many of these information have been achieved during the past two decades by a number of studies carried out in different populations around

Left ventricular hypertrophy increases cardiovascular risk independently of in-office and out-of-office blood pressure values

Previous studies have shown that left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) represents a cardiovascular risk factor independently of clinic blood pressure (BP). The present study was aimed at determining the impact of LVH on the incidence of cardiovascular morbid and fatal events taking into account not only classical risk factors but also home and ambulatory BP values, which have been shown to have an important independent prognostic impact. In 1716 patients belonging to the 'Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni' population of Monza, we quantified left ventricular mass index and identified LVH by standard cutoff values. We also measured clinic, home and 24-h ambulatory BPs together with serum glucose and lipids. During a follow-up of 148 months, the rate of fatal and nonfatal (hospitalizations) cardiovascular events as well as of all-cause death was markedly greater (four-fold to five-fold) in patients as compared with those without LVH. In LVH individuals, the increased risk remained significant even when data were adjusted for a large number of other confounding factors including home BP, 24-h mean BP and ambulatory BP. Results were similar when left ventricular mass was indexed by height and body surface area. A 10% increase in left ventricular mass index was associated with a significant increase in cardiovascular risk or all-cause deaths. In multivariate analysis, left ventricular mass index was always an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and death for any cause. Our data provide evidence that LVH is an important risk factor even when the contribution of different BPs to risk is fully taken into account.

Should White-Coat Hypertension in Diabetes Be Treated? Pro

White coat hypertension, which should be more descriptively termed “isolated clinic hypertension” (1), consists of a condition in which clinic (or office) blood pressure is repeatedly ≥140 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic, whereas 24-h mean blood pressure is below its generally accepted upper limit of normality, i.e., <125/80 mmHg (1,2). This article will first show evidence from the PAMELA (Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni) population study that isolated clinic hypertension is associated with a prevalence of organ damage and a risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, which, although less than those of patients with in- and out-of-office hypertension, are distinctly greater than those displayed by truly normotensive subjects. It will then emphasize that in diabetic subjects, limited evidence is available on the prevalence of isolated clinic hypertension as well as on its association with diabetic-related microvascular and macrovascular disease. In this context, some specific difficulties exist, i.e., 1 ) the uncertainty about whether the cut-off clinic and ambulatory blood pressure values to use should (or should not) be different from those used in nondiabetic individuals, 2 ) the small number of subjects and events in the few studies that have addressed this issue, and 3 ) the confounding effect of factors such as the duration of diabetes, the extent and type of blood pressure–lowering treatments, and the more or less effective blood glucose control when subjects with and without isolated clinic hypertension are compared. It will be concluded, however, that recommendations on this matter should take into due account that, in diabetes, cardiovascular and renal protection are enhanced by aggressive reductions in clinic blood pressure (<130/80 mmHg) and that lowering blood pressure is beneficial even when the initial clinic value is within the normal blood pressure range, i.e., 130–139 mmHg (2). This scores in favor of a systematic blood …

Response to Long-Term Risk in Subjects With White-Coat Hypertension

We thank Obara et al1 for their interest in the results of our analysis of the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate e Loro Associazioni Study population,2 which expands on the evidence obtained in the Ohasama Study population.3 As mentioned by Ugajin et al,3 in the Ohasama population, white-coat hypertension, as defined by a high office blood pressure (BP) and a normal home BP, was associated with a greater risk of developing sustained (ie, office and home) hypertension as compared with true normotension, that is, the condition in …