02 Aug Blood Pressure Dippers May React Differently to Morning Blood Pressure Surge

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Sante D. Pierdomenico
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
University “Gabriele d’Annunzio”
Chieti-Pescara – Italy

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Pierdomenico: Though a peak incidence of cardiovascular events in the morning has
been observed, the independent prognostic value of morning surge (MS)
of blood pressure (BP) is not yet clear. We investigated the
association between morning surge of systolic blood pressure and risk of coronary events in elderly treated hypertensive patients. Subjects were divided according
to tertiles of MS of systolic blood pressure of the population as a whole, by
dipping status (nondippers are at increased risk than dippers) and by
group-specific tertiles of morning surge of systolic blood pressure in dippers and nondippers because these groups have different MS of blood pressure. In elderly treated
hypertensive patients, high MS of systolic BP predicts coronary events
in dippers but not in nondippers. Nondippers, however, show higher
risk of coronary events independently of morning surge in systolic blood pressure.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Pierdomenico: Blood pressure should be better controlled after awakening in dippers with high morning surge and during the night in nondippers in order to better prevent
cardiovascular events.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Pierdomenico: We should evaluate treatment strategies (administration of drugs in
the morning and/or evening, considering their characteristics such as
duration of action, and the time to peak of action) that allow better
control of blood pressure after awakening in patients with high MS and during the
night in nondippers.

Citation:

Morning Blood Pressure Surge, Dipping, and Risk of Coronary Events in Elderly Treated Hypertensive Patients.

Pierdomenico SD, Pierdomenico AM, Di Tommaso R, Coccina F, Di Carlo S, Porreca E, Cuccurullo F.

Am J Hypertens. 2015 Jul 20. pii: hpv074. [Epub ahead of print]

PMID: 26195557
Pierdomenico SD¹, Pierdomenico AM², Di Tommaso R³, Coccina F³, Di Carlo S³, Porreca E⁴, Cuccurullo F⁴.

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Prof. Sante D. Pierdomenico (2015). Blood Pressure Dippers May React Differently to Morning Blood Pressure Surge 

Last Updated on August 2, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD