[Hemodynamics and pressure variability in isolated systolic hypertension]

Isolated systolic hypertension is a common feature in aged individuals and it has been associated with an increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. More recently it has been shown that this condition is characterized by peculiar abnormalities of arterial vessels. For example isolated systolic hypertension is associated with a reduction in arterial compliance evident both in muscle arteries, like the radial one, and in elastic arteries, like the carotid one. On the other side cardiovascular homeostasis is markedly deranged and blood pressure variability more marked than in age matched normotensive subjects. Finally, 24-hour blood pressure monitoring has allowed to exclude that isolated systolic hypertension might be merely linked to an exaggerated alarm reaction, showing that blood pressure is elevated along the whole 24-hour blood pressure profile.