Cohort Study | Ambulatory blood pressure more predictive of mortality than clinic blood pressure
24 May, 2023 | 13:19h | UTCSummary: This cohort study analyzed the relationship between clinic and ambulatory blood pressure with mortality. The study utilized data from March 2004 to December 2014, sourced from the Spanish Ambulatory Blood Pressure Registry, which included 59,124 patients from 223 primary care centers across all regions of Spain. Patients were monitored until their date of death or until December 31, 2019.
During a median follow-up of 9.7 years, 7174 (12.1%) patients died, including 2361 (4.0%) due to cardiovascular causes. Findings revealed J-shaped associations for several blood pressure measures. Notably, 24-hour systolic blood pressure had a stronger association with all-cause death (HR 1.41 per 1 SD increment [95% CI 1.36–1.47]) than clinic systolic blood pressure. When adjusted for clinic blood pressure, the association between 24-hour blood pressure and all-cause death remained strong (HR 1.43 [95% CI 1.37–1.49]). Night-time systolic blood pressure was found to be the most predictive of all-cause and cardiovascular death.
The findings imply that ambulatory blood pressure, particularly night-time blood pressure, is more informative about the risk of all-cause death and cardiovascular death than clinic blood pressure. Masked hypertension and sustained hypertension were associated with increased mortality risks, but not white-coat hypertension. These results emphasize the importance of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in hypertension management and risk prediction. Future research should focus on potential causes and strategies to control night-time blood pressure effectively, considering its substantial association with death risk.
Commentary: Tight Link Between Ambulatory BP and Mortality Affirmed in Revamped Analysis – TCTMD