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Effects of Antihypertensive Therapy on Blood Pressure Variability
1Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan. ke112@jichi.ac.jp.
Insights
Antihypertensive therapy impacts blood pressure variability (BPV). Long-acting calcium channel blockers may reduce BPV, while adherence is key for better outcomes in hypertension management.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hypertension Research
Background:
- Blood pressure variability (BPV) is linked to target organ damage and cardiovascular prognosis.
- Visit-to-visit BP variability predicts cardiovascular events in treated hypertensive patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the effects of antihypertensive therapy on different types of blood pressure variability in hypertensive individuals.
Main Methods:
- Literature review summarizing existing studies on antihypertensive therapy and BPV.
- Analysis of BPV markers including visit-to-visit, day-by-day, and ambulatory BPV.
Main Results:
- Long-acting calcium channel blockers (CCBs) show potential in reducing BPV.
- Medication non-adherence significantly contributes to increased BPV.
- BPV reduction may be a crucial strategy for high-risk patients.
Conclusions:
- While BPV is not a direct target for antihypertensive treatment due to limited evidence, its reduction is clinically significant for high-risk patients.
- Improving adherence to antihypertensive medication is vital for favorable prognosis.
Purpose Of Review:
The study aims to summarize the effect of antihypertensive therapy on various types of BP variability in hypertensives.
Recent Findings:
Visit-to-visit, day-by-day, and ambulatory BPV are markers of target organ damage and cardiovascular prognosis, as was shown in the LIFE study, which showed that visit-to-visit variability in BP predicted cardiovascular events in treated hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. Long-acting calcium channel blockers (CCBs) may be a preferable treatment in reducing BPV measures. Non-adherence to antihypertensive medication is also a very important component of increased BPV, and improving the adherence is also a key for the favorable prognosis. BPV cannot be a target of antihypertensive treatments because of the lack of definitive evidence. However, in high-risk patients, those with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, the clinical significance should be considered in individual basis. Especially, reduction of BPV would be an important strategy for these patients.
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