The Correlation Between ABPM Parameters and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Pediatric Essential Hypertension

Vortex Formation Time is a Novel Measure for Early Detection of Diastolic Abnormalities in Adolescents with Hypertension

Pediatric hypertension (HTN) has demonstrated an upward trend in recent years. Adolescent HTN has been linked to adult HTN, cardiovascular disease, and other health conditions. Thus, it is essential that HTN and its associated cardiac abnormalities be diagnosed and treated early to minimize lifelong adverse effects. In this study, we evaluated whether vortex formation time (VFT), a validated echocardiogram measure of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, correlated with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and HTN in adolescents. Echocardiogram data including systolic and diastolic function indices and ABPM data from 2015 to 2022 in adolescents age 13-21 years were analyzed retrospectively. We found that VFT was significantly lower in adolescents with HTN compared to those without HTN (3.69 ± 1.39 vs. 4.50 ± 1.73, p = 0.02). Standard echocardiographic indices of systolic and diastolic function were similar between the two groups, except indexed left atrial volume. Higher overall systolic blood pressure (SBP) (β = - 0.01, CI - 0.02, - 2.2 × 10^-3, p = 0.02), mean wake SBP (β = - 0.01, CI - 0.02, - 9.4 × 10^-4, p = 0.03), and mean sleep SBP (β = - 0.01, CI - 0.02, - 1.2 × 10^-3, p = 0.03) were significantly associated with lower VFT. This study demonstrates that VFT correlates to ABPM data and can be used a novel diagnostic measure in adolescents with HTN.

Association between red blood cell distribution width and left ventricular hypertrophy in pediatric essential hypertension

AIM

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is one of the most common types of target organ damage in hypertension. The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is closely related to many cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the RDW level and LVH in pediatric essential hypertension.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 429 untreated children and adolescents with essential hypertension were recruited and divided into an LVH group (n = 114) and non-LVH group (n = 315) according to left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and relative wall thickness (RWT) by color Doppler ultrasound. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between RDW and LVMI, RWT. The effect of RDW on LVH was determined using a multivariate logistic regression analysis. To assess the predictive value of RDW on LVH, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used.

RESULTS

The level of RDW in children with hypertension in the LVH group was significantly higher than that in the non-LVH group (13.0 [12.0, 13.0] vs. 12.4 [12.0, 13.0] %, P = 0.001). The incidence of low and high quantiles of LVH was 21.0% and 32.0%, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis showed that RDW was positively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP), LVMI, RWT, and red blood cell (RBC) count (P all < 0.05), and negatively correlated with hemoglobin (HGB) level, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (P all < 0.05). After adjusting for various confounding factors, a multivariate logistic regression model revealed that RDW was an independent risk factor for LVH (OR = 1.946, 95% CI: 1.324-2.861, P = 0.001). The area under the ROC curve of RDW predicting centripetal hypertrophy was 0.700 (95% CI: 0.541-0.859, P < 0.05) in pediatric essential hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased RDW levels are an independent risk factor for LVH in pediatric essential hypertension, and RDW may be a predictor of LVH in untreated pediatric essential hypertension.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in children: A retrospective single-center study

OBJECTIVES

(1) Compare 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) diagnoses in a pediatric population with the new 2022 guidelines to the original diagnoses with the 2014 guidelines. (2) Determine whether findings of hypertension from ABPM could be predicted from prior patient data. (3) Determine whether ABPM readings could predict left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in patients who obtained an echocardiogram (ECHO).

STUDY DESIGN

Single-center retrospective study on patients referred to Pediatric Nephrology Clinic for evaluation of elevated blood pressure who underwent ABPM from 2015 to 2018. Predictions of hypertension were obtained using a logistic regression model, and predictions of LVMI were performed using regression models including (a) the wake systolic and diastolic BP indices, or (b) additionally including the standard deviation (SD) of wake SBP and DBP.

RESULTS

With the change in 2022 to new ABPM guidelines from the AHA, comparing the old and new guidelines led to 70% of previous pre-hypertensive diagnoses now meeting criteria for diagnosis of hypertension, and a rise from 21% of the ABPMs meeting criteria for hypertension to 51% now meeting criteria. In a logistic regression model, prior patient data were not predictive of a diagnosis of hypertension from ABPM (Nagelkerke's R ² = 0.04). Among the individual variables studied, none were statistically significant. For prediction of LVMI, the SD of wake SBP and DBP were significantly associated with increased LVMI, but the wake SBP and DBP indices were not.

CONCLUSIONS

In our patient population, the new ABPM guidelines led to a significant increase in diagnoses of hypertension. Prior patient data was not sufficient to predict a diagnosis of hypertension by ABPM, supporting the need for evaluation by ABPM as the gold standard. Our analysis of the relationship between ABPM readings and LVMI supports the hypothesis that BP variability contributes to increased LVMI. These data are consistent with growing evidence in the adult literature that BP variability detected by ABPM is associated with left-ventricular hypertrophy.

Circadian Blood Pressure Profile in Pediatric Patients with Primary Hypertension

Our study aimed to evaluate factors affecting circadian BP profile and its association with hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) in pediatric patients with primary hypertension (PH). The study included 112 children (14.7 ± 2.1 age, 79 boys, 33 girls) with untreated PH. Non-dipping was defined as a nocturnal drop in systolic or diastolic BP (SBP, DBP) < 10%, and a nocturnal drop >20% was defined as extreme dipping. The nocturnal SBP drop was 10.9 ± 5.9 (%), and the DBP drop was 16.2 ± 8.5 (%). Non-dipping was found in 50 (44.6%) children and extreme dipping in 29 (25.9%) patients. The nocturnal SBP decrease correlated with BMI Z-score (r = −0.242, p = 0.010) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (r = −0.395, p = 0.006); diastolic DBP decrease correlated with augmentation index (AIx75HR) (r = 0.367, p = 0.003). Patients with a disturbed blood pressure profile had the highest LVMI (p = 0.049), while extreme dippers had the highest augmentation index (AIx75HR) (p = 0.027). Elevated systolic and diastolic BP dipping were risk factors for positive AIx75HR (OR 1.122 95CI (1.009−1.249) and OR 1.095 95CI (1.017−1.177). We concluded that disturbed circadian BP profile was common in children with PH and should not be considered a marker of secondary hypertension. A disturbed circadian BP profile may be associated with higher body weight. In pediatric patients with PH, non-dipping is associated with increased left ventricular mass, and extreme dipping may be a risk factor for increased arterial stiffness.