Increased Pulse Pressure Is Associated with Reduced Baroreflex Sensitivity
Journal of Human Hypertension (2004) 18, 247–252 & 2004 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0950-9240/04 $25.00 www.nature.com/jhh ORIGINAL ARTICLE Increased pulse pressure is associated with reduced baroreflex sensitivity R Virtanen1, A Jula2, H Huikuri3, T Kuusela4, H Helenius5, A Ylitalo6, L-M Voipio-Pulkki1,7, H Kauma3,8, YA Kesa¨niemi3,8 and J Airaksinen1 1Department of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; 2Research Department of the Social Insurance Institution, Turku, Finland; 3Department of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; 4Department of Physics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; 5Department of Biostatistics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; 6Division of Cardiology, Satakunta Central Hospital, Pori, Finland; 7Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; 8Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland Although pulse pressure (PP), heart rate variability significant when 24-h ambulatory diastolic blood pres- (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) have been shown sure, body mass index, smoking and alcohol intake were to predict cardiovascular events and mortality in various added as covariates in the multivariate analysis. In- populations, their relationships have not been clarified. creased ambulatory PP was also associated with We examined these associations in two separate increased beat-to-beat systolic arterial pressure varia- population-based samples of healthy middle-aged sub- bility. Associations between ambulatory PP and HRV jects. In population 1, data were obtained from 149 were not significant after controlling for age and gender. subjects (71 men and 78 women) aged 35–64 (mean 47.7) Our results suggest that elevated PP does not affect years, and in population 2, from 214 subjects (88 men overall HRV, but it interferes with baroreflex-mediated and 126 women) aged 40–62 (mean 50.5) years.
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