American journal of hypertension
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Comparative Study
Validation of the noninvasive assessment of central blood pressure by the SphygmoCor and Omron devices against the invasive catheter measurement.
To investigate the accuracy of the SphygmoCor and Omron HEM9000-AI devices in the estimation of central blood pressure (BP) in comparison with the simultaneous invasive catheter measurement. ⋯ Both devices underestimated central systolic BP, with a larger deviation by SphygmoCor. Nonetheless, these noninvasive estimations of central BP closely correlate with the invasive measurements, and can still be properly used, on the condition that device specific diagnostic thresholds become available.
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Although blood pressure (BP) differences from supine to sitting position have long been recognized, limited data are available on other commonly used body positions. We performed a cross-sectional study to compare BP values obtained in supine, sitting, and Fowler's positions in essential hypertensive subjects. ⋯ Fowler's position may represent a valid alternative to sitting and supine positions for BP measurement in clinical practice. BP random variability was found to be large regardless of body position, reinforcing the need for operators to closely follow current guidelines that recommend ≥2 recordings at each measurement.
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To determine whether the administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) on top of standard cardiovascular (CV) therapies may reduce the incidence of new onset diabetes (NOD) in placebo-controlled clinical trials. The effects of these drugs on CV and non-CV mortality were also tested. ⋯ Our findings demonstrated that ACE inhibitors or ARBs should be preferred in patients with clinical conditions that may increase risk of NOD, since these drugs reduced NOD incidence. In addition, these drugs have favorable effects on CV and non-CV mortality in high CV risk patients.
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Clonidine, a centrally acting antihypertensive agent, has been used successfully in pregnancy. We sought to describe the pharmacodynamic effects of clonidine in pregnancy and the associated impact on fetal growth. ⋯ The hemodynamic effect of clonidine in pregnancy is heterogeneous. The category of effect, reduction in vascular resistance vs. reduction in CO, significantly impacts fetal growth. A reduction in heart rate (HR) after therapy identifies pregnancies at risk for reduced fetal growth.