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Updated: May 1, 2026
A Methodological Approach to Non-invasive Assessments of Vascular Function and Morphology
Published on: February 7, 2015
The relationship between the 24 h blood pressure variability and carotid intima-media thickness: a compared study
Huahua Xiong1, Dan Wu2, Xiaohong Tian3
1Department of Ultrasound, The Second Peoples' Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518029, China.
Insights
High blood pressure variability (BPV) is linked to increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of vascular damage. Daytime systolic BPV, particularly using the average real variability (ARV) method, best predicts IMT changes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Vascular Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Elevated blood pressure variability (BPV) is a risk factor for target organ damage and cardiovascular events.
- Vascular system damage, often indicated by carotid artery alterations, is a known consequence of hypertension.
- Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a key indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis and vascular health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between blood pressure variability (BPV) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT).
- To identify specific BPV indices that best correlate with IMT in a Chinese urban population.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 60 subjects (aged 33-79) in Shenzhen, China.
- 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to assess BPV using standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and average real variability (ARV).
- Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measurements obtained via ultrasound.
Main Results:
- Both daytime and 24-hour systolic BPV, assessed by all three indices, showed a positive association with IMT.
- Daytime systolic BPV, specifically measured by ARV, emerged as the strongest predictor of increased carotid IMT.
- After adjusting for confounding factors, 24-hour diastolic BPV (using SD) also demonstrated a significant association with IMT.
Conclusions:
- Blood pressure variability is significantly associated with carotid intima-media thickness.
- Daytime systolic BPV, particularly using ARV, is a crucial indicator of vascular changes in the carotid artery.
- These findings highlight the importance of monitoring BPV for cardiovascular risk assessment.
Abstract:
Large blood pressure variability (BPV) will not only harm the target organ but also increase the possibility of the cardiovascular events. Since the damage of vascular system always leads to the alteration of the carotid wall, the structure and function of the carotid artery have been extensively examined in previous studies. In this work we conduct a study (60 subjects, aged 33-79) to evaluate the relationship between BPV and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in Shenzhen, which is one large city in the southern area of China. In our study, the blood pressure (BP) was collected using the 24 h ambulatory BP monitoring, and the BPV was evaluated using standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and average real variability (ARV) during 24 h, daytime and nighttime. All the IMT measurements are collected by ultrasound. The results show that both the daytime, and 24 h systolic BPV evaluated by three indices are positively associated with IMT. Among them, daytime systolic BPV evaluated with ARV is the best variable to represent the increasing of carotid IMT. In addition, after adjusting by age, sex, smoking, hypertension, and mean BP and PP values, 24 h diastolic BPV evaluated with SD also presents the favorable performance.
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