14 Aug Not Just in the Clinic: Day and Night Blood Pressures Linked to Heart Disease Risk in African Americans
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Yano
Yuichiro Yano MD
Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health
Duke University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: African Americans are disproportionally affected by hypertension-related cardiovascular disease compared with other racial/ethnic groups in the United States and have higher blood pressure levels inside and outside the clinic than whites and Asians. However, little is known, among African Americans, regarding whether higher mean blood pressure measured outside of the clinic setting on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease events, independent of blood pressure measured in the clinic setting.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Among African Americans, higher blood pressure during wakefulness (referred to as daytime blood pressure) and while asleep (referred to as nighttime blood pressure) were each associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality, independent of blood pressure levels measured in the clinic. Daytime and nighttime blood pressure on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring identifies African Americans at high risk for cardiovascular disease beyond in-clinic blood pressure.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: Randomized controlled trials are needed to assess whether lowering daytime and nighttime blood pressure with non-pharmacological treatments and/or antihypertensive medications reduces the risk of cardiovascular events, beyond reductions in clinic blood pressure. Also, in the US, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is not widely available and is primarily limited to specialty practices. This issue creates a barrier for conducting ambulatory blood pressure monitoring routinely to assess a person’s daytime and nighttime blood pressure. Therefore, we need to consider an optimal approach to implement ambulatory blood pressure monitoring into routine clinical practice.
No disclosures.
Citation:
[wysija_form id=”3″]
[last-modified]
The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.
Last Updated on August 14, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD