Target Blood Pressure Levels In Patients Research Articles

PECULIARITIES OF 24 HOUR AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING INDICES IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

Relevance. Until now, there is an ongoing debate about the value of different indicators of blood pressure (BP) − systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse blood pressure (PBP) as predictors of essential hypertension (EH). In this regard the issue of target BP levels in patients of different ages remains studied incompletely.
 Objective is to determine peculiarities of 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring indices in patients with essential hypertension, stage II of different age groups.
 Materials and methods. ABPM indicators were determined in 130 patients who were divided into 4 groups. 1st group (n=57) – middle-aged hypertensive patients (45-59 years old); 2nd group (n=43) – elderly hypertensive patients (60-74 years old); 3rd group (n=15) – middle-aged patients without EH – control for the 1st group; 4th group (n=15) − elderly patients without EH − control for the 2nd group. Indices of ABPM were determined using a portable recorder ABPM-04 (company "Meditech", Hungary). Measurements of BP were performed every 15 minutes during the day (from 6 to 22 hours) and every 30 minutes at night (from 22 to 6 hours). We determined the following indices: the average daily SBP (mm Hg), the average daly DBP (mm Hg), the average BP (mm Hg); the maximal daily SBP (mm Hg), the maximal daily DBP (mm Hg). The daily index (DI) was also calculated − the percentage of BP decrease at night compared to daytime BP calculated in % DI of SBP, DI of DBP, DI of average BP.
 Results. In group 1 the average and maximal DBP were lower than in group 2 by 7,4% (p<0,001) and 13,1% (p<0,05), respectively. In group 1, the average daily and maximal SBP decreased by 3,8% and 4,1%, respectively; average heart rate by 3,8%; DI of SBP by 7,8% and DI of average BP by 5,8% but the data were unreliably smaller compared to the data of middle-aged patients. In group 1, the maximal DBP, DI SBP and DBP were not significantly different from the corresponding indicators in the control group. The maximal DBP was higher by 29,3% and amounted to 115,6±21,0 mm Hg and DI SBP and DI DBP are lower by 11,1% and 17,9%, respectively; and were equal to 9,6±7,4 and 13,8±8,1, respectively. In the 2nd group the following parameters decreased unreliably (p>0,05): heart rate by 8,6% and was 63,0±9,1/min., DI SBP by 17,6% and was 8,9±5,5%; DI DBP by 16,1% and was 14,1±7,1%; DI of average BP– by 20,4% and was equal to 11,3±6,1%.
 Conclusions. It is found that with the age DBP decreases with steadily increased SBP in hypertensive patients. The average daily and the maximal daily DBP are significantly less by 7,4% (p<0,001) and 13,1% (p<0,05) accordingly in elderly patients compared with the middle-aged.

Prykhylnist do likuvannia ta chynnyky, yaki vplyvaiut na yakist likuvannia arterialnoi hipertenzii u patsiientiv u viddalenyi period pislia perenesenoho infarktu miokarda

Introduction. Adherence to the treatment of arterial hypertension (AH) after myocardial infarction (MI) remains an understudied problem in world cardiology. The aim of the study. Assess adherence to treatment and the factors that affect it in patients with AH in the remote period after MI. Materials and methods. The study included 265 patients after MI (68.2 % of men, mean age 65.4 ± 9.5 years). The mean time from MI to inclusion in the study was 2.3 ± 1.9 years. Assessment of the quality of secondary prevention was performed by analyzing the results of the questionnaire, measuring of anthropometric parameters, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR), as well as determining lipid metabolism, creatinine and venous blood glucose. Results. The frequency of detection of AH in the long period after MI is 69.1 %, regardless of gender, time of MI and its variant and increases in proportion to age. Only in 26.3 % of patients with hypertension in the remote period after MI BP was within the target values. Factors associated with achieving the target values of BP were age up to 60 years (OR – 1.35; p is equal to 0.02), a visit to the doctor during the last 6 months (OR – 1.82; p is equal to 0.002), regular independent blood pressure measurement (OR – 1.63; p is equal to 0.01). 13.3 % of patients with AH after MI did not take antihypertensive drugs, the remaining 60.4 % of patients with AH were treated but did not reach the target BP. Among patients with AH after MI who did not take antihypertensive drugs, patients older than 60 years prevailed (83.3 % vs. 63.2 % of treated patients, p = 0.05). In addition, much less often these patients were under the supervision of a doctor – 47.4 % vs. 82.8 % (p is equal to 0.0005), including a cardiologist (40.9 % vs. 75.0 %, p is equal to 0.001), less visited a doctor for a year, had lower BP, and had poorer knowledge of post-MI treatment. In addition, none of them use statins. Patients with AH who received treatment but did not reach the target BP values received the same amount of antihypertensive drugs as patients with controlled AH – an average of 2.1 ± 1.0 and 2.1 ± 0.9 drugs, respectively. At the same time, 29.3 % of patients in the group of ineffectively treated AH received monotherapy. No differences were found between age, sex, basic clinical and social parameters, financial status, health knowledge, self-measurement of blood pressure, or frequency of physician visits. Conclusions. To achieve the target BP levels in patients with AH after MI, it is necessary to: introduce regular measurement of home BP in all patients; use combination antihypertensive therapy, including, if necessary, with the use of three or more drugs; regularly monitor adherence to treatment, use of antiplatelet, antihypertensive drugs and statins. Patients with difficult-to-control AH should consult a cardiologist at least every 6 months.

Assessment of the quality of life in the treatment approaches of patients with the comorbid course of arterial hypertension and metabolic disorders aimed at reducing cardiovascular risk

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of premature death worldwide. According to epidemiological studies CVD prevention is highly effective. A 50% reduction in mortality from coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with exposure to risk factors and only 40% with improved treatment. Purpose. To assess the quality of life (QOL) in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and metabolic disorders, to establish its impact on therapy effectiveness. We examined 280 patients with AH and comorbidity - 171 women and 109 men aged 45-75 years. Along with AH, all patients had comorbidities: 72.6 % suffered from coronary artery disease (CAD), 10.5% after myocardial infarction (MI), 35 % had clinical signs of heart failure (HF), 22, 1% - type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2DM), 27.4% - chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods. Anthropometry, blood pressure (BP) measurement, immunoassay (C-reactive protein), biochemical blood analysis (lipid, carbohydrate metabolism parameters, QOL determination (questionnaire Sf-36). Results. In patients with comorbidity of pathologies (presence of AH, t2DM, CKD, CAD, obesity), there was a decrease in assessments in almost all indicators of QOL, and especially significant limitations in the performance of daily activities due to both physical and mental state. Conclusion. The degree of AH in patients with t2DM decreased QOL of physical activity, role-physical functioning, pain and general health, reflecting physical health, as well as mental health, including vitality, social activity, role emotional functioning. T2DM in patients with AH significantly worsens QOL of this category of patients as in physical component summary and mental component summary. The indicators of QOL are significantly affected by the duration of t2DM, as well as the degree of compensation. Achievement of the target BP levels in patients with AH with t2DM shows an improvement in a number of QOL parameters and makes it possible to recommend the Sf-36 questionnaire as a criterion for the effectiveness of the therapy.

Antihypertensive therapy features in multimorbid outpatients

Objective. To assess the characteristics of antihypertensive therapy (AHT) in outpatient patients in relation to comorbidities and multimorbidity level. Design and methods. A cross-sectional study included 140 patients with diagnosed hypertension (HTN). We performed a standardized complaints and medical history registration, questionnaire survey, anthropometry, office blood pressure (BP) assessment. Based on Charlson index the patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 with moderate multimorbidity (≤ 4 points), group 2 with high multimorbidity level (≥ 5 points). The data are presented as median and proportions with bi-directional 95 % confidence interval. Results. In the sampling of 100 (64,3 71,4 78,6 %) women and 40 (21,4 28,6 35,7 %) men median age was 65 68 70, median Charlson index was 4 5 5. Group with moderate multimorbidity included 63 patients. High multimorbidity group included 77 subjects. HTN degree did not differ between the groups. Subjects from group 2 had higher level of cardiovascular risk (χ2 = 17,2, df = 2, p = 0,00018) and were more likely to have a history of HTN-associated clinical conditions (χ2 = 27,1, df = 2, p = 0,00000). By the time of examination, AHT was started in 137 (95,097,9 100,0%) patients. Monotherapy was ongoing in 20 cases (8,814,3 20,4%), combined AHT was prescribed to 117 (79,6 85,4 91,2 %) persons: 50 (21,2 36,5 43,8 %) patients received 2 drugs, 67 (40,9 48,9 56,9 %) patients received ≥ drugs. Number of antihypertensive drugs was higher in patients of group 2 than in group 1 (χ2 = 6,7, df = 2, p = 0,036). Drug number was not associated with HTN degree (χ2 = 3,8, df = 4, p = 0,44). Patients from group 2 were more likely to take β1-blockers (p = 0,027) and moxonidine (p = 0,042). Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduced the frequency of achieving the target BP level in patients treated by angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (p = 0,002). The frequency of achieving target BP was 42,9 50,7 58,6 %, it was independent of the number of prescribed drugs (p = 0,07) and did not differ in the groups of moderate and high multimorbidity (p = 0,87). Conclusions. Multimorbid patients require combined antihypertensive drugs to control hypertension. Multimorbidity level, comorbidities and drug-to-drug interactions should be taken into account during individualized HTN management. NSAID significantly affect the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy.

Evidence base regarding target levels of arterial pressure in patients after a stroke: focus on a geriatric population

Arterial hypertension (AH) is a very significant and most common risk factor for stroke, and lowering blood pressure (BP) is the most effective action to prevent stroke in patients with AH. This article provides an overview of existing randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and meta-analyzes to study the optimal target BP levels in patients with AH and cerebral events with a history of focusing on the geriatric population. As a result of the analysis of literature data, we obtained contradictory results: RCTs showed the benefits of lower target BP, in only two of them the target level of systolic BP (SBP) was less than 130 mm Hg, and the average age of patients included in the RCTs varied from 60 to 68 years, the number of patients older than 75 years was insignificant, and some studies excluded patients older than 85 years. Several subanalyses analyzed by RCTs found a J-shaped relationship between BP levels achieved and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. One of them showed that with a decrease in BP below the SBP 120 mm Hg and DBP 65 mm Hg higher BP was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. Another one showed that the risk of re-stroke and the risk of subsequent adverse events was statistically significantly higher in patients with an average level of SBP below 120 mm Hg than in patients with a level of SBP of 130139 mm Hg. The meta-analysis published in the Cochrane database did not show significant advantages of lowering BP130/85 mm Hg versus standard lowering BP140160/90100 mm Hg, while another meta-analysis revealed some advantages of a more intense decrease in BP for the prevention of re-stroke. Existing studies did not take into account the heterogeneity of the geriatric population and did not include patients with fraility and multimorbidity patients, and did not take into account the type of stroke to develop a differentiated approach to the tactics of lowering BP in patients of all age groups. Therefore, in relation to the recommended ESC/ESH experts in 2018, target BP levels of 120129/7079 mm Hg (aged 1865 years) and 130139/7079 mmHg (aged 65 years) for patients with AH and a history of cerebral events, there are still some doubts about the benefits of lower target BP values for the prevention of re-stroke and other cardiovascular events for the entire population of geriatric patients, especially patients older than 75, so specially designed randomized controlled trials are needed.

Target levels of blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension and coronary heart disease

High blood pressure (BP) is a leading risk factor for premature death and one of the important risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). A significant increase in risk is observed starting from the level of systolic BP of about 140 mm Hg. Tactics of antihypertensive therapy in patients with co-existent hypertension (HTN) and CHD are reviewed in the European and Russian recommendations for HTN. In spite of this, some uncertainty remains regarding the optimal target BP level in patients with HTN and clinically manifest CHD mainly due to the lack of convincing evidence arising from large and specially designed randomized clinical trials (RCTs) dedicated to this issue. Some observational studies, meta-analysis, special analysis of subgroups of patients with HTN and CHD from the large RCTs, showed a J-shaped relation between the achieved BP and an increased cardiovascular risk. Our paper reviews up-to-date literature in relation to the target BP level in patients with HTN and CHD, including patients with high cardiovascular risk and patients undergoing revascularization. We review data from large studies and meta-analysis, evaluating the impact of more intensive vs. less intensive control of BP on the risk of major cardiovascular events or mortality. The analysis of the literature confirmed a lack of evidence of benefits of lower target BP values in senile patients with co-existent HTN and CHD, thus indicating the need for well-planned RCTs.

New Guidelines on Management of Arterial Hypertension: Key Similarities and Differences

Steady increase in worldwide prevalence of hypertension and hypertension-related cardiovascular morbidity and mortality necessitate new approaches to the management of hypertensive patients. It`s important to recognize that despite several differences the convergence of the 2017 ACC/AHA (US) and 2018 ESC/ESH (European) guidelines is greater now than ever before. The present review focuses on the key similarities and differences of these two documents. Among similarities we analyzed positions regarding the importance of cardiovascular risk evaluation for treatment initiation and choice of optimal treatment strategy: blood pressure (BP) treatment thresholds; drugs of choice for the initiation of antihypertensive therapy and treatment targets in different groups including elderly patients. Among key differences we analyzed sections concerning the classification of BP levels and target BP levels in patients with chronic kidney disease. In conclusion, we may say that in many ways the guidelines are just a different interpretation of the same data. There is no doubt in the importance of lowering high BP and evaluation and correction of high cardiovascular risk. One of the main purposes is to focus attention on younger patients with hypertension.

Diuretics enhance effects of increased dose of candesartan on ambulatory blood pressure reduction in Japanese patients with uncontrolled hypertension treated with medium-dose angiotensin II receptor blockers

Although blockade of the renin–angiotensin system by increasing the dose of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) is recommended to achieve clinical benefits in terms of blood pressure (BP) control and cardiovascular and renal outcomes, the effect of this increased dose on ambulatory BP monitoring has not been evaluated completely in Japanese patients with uncontrolled hypertension undergoing medium-dose ARB therapy. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effect of the relatively high dose of the ARB candesartan (12 mg/day) on 24-h systolic BP and the attainment of target BP levels in uncontrolled hypertension treated with a medium dose of ARBs. A total of 146 hypertensive patients (age: 69.9 ± 9.3 years; females: 65.8%) completed the study. After switching to candesartan at 12 mg/day, all these BP measurements decreased significantly (p < 0.001). Attainment of the target office BP (p = 0.0014) and 24-h BP levels (p = 0.0296) also improved significantly. Subgroup analysis indicated that the reduction of 24-h systolic BP was larger in patients treated with diuretics than those without (p = 0.0206). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant correlation between the combined ARB and diuretic therapy, and the change in 24-h systolic BP irrespective of preceding ARBs. In conclusion, the switching therapy to increased dose of candesartan caused significant reductions in office and ambulatory BP levels, and improved the attainment of target BP levels in patients with uncontrolled hypertension treated with a medium dose of ARBs. Combination with diuretics enhanced this effect.