Does Blood Pressure Variability Affect Hypertension Development in Prehypertensive Patients?

BACKGROUND Blood pressure variability (BPV) is associated with end organ damage and cardiovascular outcomes in hypertensive patients. Prehypertensive patients frequently develop hypertension (HT). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of BPV on the development of HT. METHODS Two hundred and seven prehypertensive patients from the Cappadocia cohort were monitored over 2 years, and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), office BP, and home BP measurements were subsequently performed at 4- to 6-month intervals. BPV was calculated as average real variability (ARV) from 24-h ABPM data, home BR and office BP measurements at first visit. The relationship was evaluated between baseline ARV and the development of HT. RESULTS HT was diagnosed in 25.60% of subjects. Baseline 24-hour ABPM systolic blood pressure (SBP)(ARV) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)(ARV) arid home SBPARV were significantly higher in patients who developed HT than the other patients (P 0.006, 0.001 and 0.006, respectively). Baseline 24-hour ABPM SBPARV and home SBPARV exceeding the 90th percentile were identified as parameters affecting development of HT at logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION In conclusion, our prospective observational cohort study showed that short-term BPV in particular can predict the development of HT in the prehypertensive population.