Prevalence and clinical characteristics of isolated systolic hypertension in young: analysis of 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring database

Instability of Healthy Overweight and Obesity Phenotypes over the Long Term in Young Participants in the HARVEST Study: Influence of Sex

BACKGROUND

Whether healthy metabolic status is stable or only temporary is still controversial. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of the transition from metabolically healthy to metabolically unhealthy status, or vice versa, over the long term.

METHODS

We examined 970 individuals of 18 to 45 years of age. The participants' mean age was 33.1 ± 8.6 years and mean BP was 145.5 ± 10.6/93.5 ± 5.7 mmHg. Participants were classified into four groups according to whether they had normal weight or overweight/obesity (OwOb) and were metabolically healthy or unhealthy. After 7.5 years, 24.3% of men and 41.9% of women in the metabolically healthy normal-weight group remained metabolically healthy (p < 0.0001). Among the metabolically healthy OwOb participants, 31.9% remained metabolically healthy, with a similar frequency in men and women. However, more OwOb women (19.1%) than men (5.7%) achieved normal weight (p < 0.0001). Among the metabolically unhealthy OwOb subjects, 81.8% of men and 69.3% of women remained metabolically unhealthy, 7.4% of men and 12.0% of women transitioned to OwOb healthy status, and 10.7% of men and 18.7% of women achieved normal weight (men versus women, p < 0.0001). Predictors of transition to unhealthy status were high BP, high BMI, and smoking. Male sex was a borderline predictor of progression to unhealthy status in OwOb participants (p = 0.073).

CONCLUSION

These data show that metabolically healthy status is a highly unstable condition in both normal-weight and OwOb individuals. The impairment of metabolic status was more frequent in men than in women. Lifestyle counseling produced beneficial effects in almost one-third of metabolically unhealthy OwOb women and in less than one-fifth of men.

Relationship between heart rate and central aortic blood pressure: implications for assessment and treatment of isolated systolic hypertension in the young

Isolated systolic hypertension in the young (ISHY) remains a challenging problem, partly due to the differences in central aortic pressure observed in studies investigating ISHY. The fundamental relationship between heart rate and central aortic pressure, and more precisely, the relationship between heart rate and amplification of central aortic pressure in the periphery, underpins the assessment and, as a consequence, the treatment of ISHY. Physiology warrants that an increase in heart rate would lead to increased amplification of the pressure pulse between the aorta and the brachial artery. Heart rate generally decreases with age, in particular over the first two decades of life. Thus, a higher heart rate in the young would result in higher pulse pressure amplification, and therefore an elevated brachial systolic pressure would not necessarily translate to elevated aortic systolic pressure. However, elevated heart rate is not a consistent feature in ISHY, and studies have shown that ISHY can present with either high or low central aortic systolic pressure. In this brief review, we summarize the physiological aspects underlying the relationship between heart rate and central aortic blood pressure and its amplification in the brachial artery, how this relationship changes with age, and examine the implications of these effects on the assessment and treatment of ISHY.

The different risk factors for isolated diastolic hypertension and isolated systolic hypertension: a national survey

Background

Hypertension is highly prevalent and is one of the modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular outcomes. Isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), however, tends to be ignored due to insufficient recognition. We sought to depict the clinical manifestation of IDH and isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) to find a more efficient way to improve the management.

Methods

Patients with primary hypertension aged over 18 years were investigated from all over the country using convenience sampling during 2017–2019. IDH was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mmHg. ISH was defined as SBP ≥ 140 mmHg and DBP < 90 mmHg.

Results

A total of 8548 patients were screened, and 8475 participants were included. The average age was 63.67 ± 12.78 years, and males accounted for 54.4%. Among them, 361 (4.3%) had IDH, and 2096 had ISH (24.7%). Patients with IDH (54.84 ± 13.21 years) were much younger. Aging turned out to be negatively associated with IDH but positively associated with ISH. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed BMI was a significant risk factor for IDH (OR 1.30, 95%CI 1.05–1.61, p = 0.018), but not for ISH (OR 1.05, 95%CI 0.95–1.16, p = 0.358). Moreover, smoking was significantly associated with IDH (OR 1.36, 95%CI 1.04–1.78, p = 0.026) but not with ISH (OR 1.04, 95%CI 0.90–1.21, p = 0.653).

Conclusions

Patients with IDH were much younger, and the prevalence decreased with aging. BMI and smoking were remarkably associated with IDH rather than ISH. Keeping fit and giving up smoking might be particularly efficient in the management of young patients with IDH.

Trial registration

NCT03862183, retrospectively registered on March 5, 2019.