Blood Pressure

BP Variance Compared Across Multiple Antihypertensives

A recent study, presented at the ACC’s 67th Annual Scientific Session and Expo, gauged the effects of various types of antihypertensive medications on visit-to-visit office blood pressure variability (VVOBPV) and mortality risk.

VVOBPV has been proposed as a predictor of mortality risk, but whether this association varies based on the type of antihypertensive medications being used is unknown.
________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTEN
Breastfeeding Could Lower Hypertension Risk
3 Questions About the New Hypertension Guidelines: Dr. Wilbert S. Aronow
________________________________________________________________________________

In a study involving 10,586 participants with at least 7 systolic blood pressure measurements between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2011, researchers calculated VVOBPV as the standard deviation of the 7 measurements. Patients were followed until June 2016. Types of antihypertensive medications included non-cardioselective beta blockers, dihydrorpyridine calcium channel blockers, loop diurectics, central alpha 2 agonists, and aldosterone antagonists.

Overall, 2951 patients died during follow-up. The predictive ability of VVOBPV for mortality was attenuated by the use of antihypertensive medications except with dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers and loop diuretics.

“Use of beta blocker, central alpha 2 agonist, and aldosterone antagonist antihypertensive medications was associated with lower risk of mortality in the setting of elevated VVOBPV compared to patients not using those medications,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Clements B, Allred N, Riessen E, at al. 1304-424 / 424 - Effect of antihypertensive class on visit-to-visit office blood pressure variability and its effect on all-cause mortality [presented at the ACC 67th Annual Scientific Session and Expo]. March 12, 2018. http://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/4496/presentation/39648.