Association between nondipper pulse rate and measures of cardiac overload: The J-HOP Study

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nondipper pulse rate (PR) and hypertensive target organ damage. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was conducted in 940 high-risk Japanese patients enrolled in the Japan Morning Surge Home Blood Pressure Study. Nondipper PR was defined as (awake PR-sleep PR)/awake PR <0.1. The authors measured the patients' brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI). The nondipper PR group (n=213) had a significantly higher prevalence of high BNP (≥35 pg/mL, 39.9% vs 26.1%; P<.001) than the dipper PR group (n=727). LVMI was significantly higher in the nondipper PR patients compared with the dipper PR patients among the women (mean LVMI: 111.3±32.4 vs 104.2±26.7 g/m² , P=.03) but not the men (mean LVMI: 117.6±32.0 vs 117.2±33.1 g/m² , P=.92). In conclusion, the nondipper PR was associated with cardiac overload.