Pulsatile stress in middle-aged patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes compared with nondiabetic control subjects

Arterial pulse pressure is considered to be an independent cardiovascular risk factor. We compared pulse pressure during an active orthostatic test in middle-aged patients with type 1 diabetes and with type 2 diabetes and corresponding nondiabetic control subjects.

Forty patients with type 1 diabetes (mean age 50 years, diabetes duration 23 years, and BMI 23.0 kg/m2) were compared with 40 nonhypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes (respectively, 50 years, 8 years, and 29.7 kg/m2). Patients taking antihypertensive agents or with renal insufficiency were excluded. All patients were evaluated with a continuous noninvasive arterial blood pressure monitoring (Finapres) in standing (1 min), squatting (1 min), and again standing position (1 min). Patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes were compared with two groups of 40 age-, sex- and BMI-matched healthy subjects.

Patients with type 1 diabetes and patients with type 2 diabetes showed significantly higher pulse pressure, heart rate, and double product of pulse pressure and heart rate (PP×HR) (type 1: 5,263 vs. 4,121 mmHg/min, P=0.0004; type 2: 5,359 vs. 4,321 mmHg, P=0.0023) levels than corresponding control subjects. There were no significant differences between patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes regarding pulse pressure (59 vs. 58 mmHg), heart rate (89 vs. 88/min), and PP×HR (5,263 vs. 5,359 mmHg/min).

Patients with type 1 diabetes have increased levels of peripheral PP, an indirect marker of arterial stiffness, and PP×HR, an index of pulsatile stress, comparable to those of nonhypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes at similar mean age of 50 years.