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The VASOTENS Registry is an international telehealth-based repository of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitorings (ABPM) obtained through an oscillometric upper-arm BP monitor allowing combined estimation of some vascular biomarkers. The present paper reports the results obtained in 1200 participants according to different categories of CV risk. Individual readings were averaged for each recording and 24-hour mean of brachial and aortic systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and augmentation index (AIx) obtained. Peripheral and central BP, PWVand AIx values were increased in older participants (SBP only) and in case of hypertension (SBP and DBP). BP was lower and PWVand AIx higher in females. PWV was increased and BP unchanged in case of metabolic syndrome. Our results suggest that ambulatory pulse wave analysis in a daily life setting may help evaluate vascular health of individuals at risk for CV disease.

The aim of this study was to detect the prevalence of resistant hypertension (RH), allowing for adherence to appropriate lifestyle measures according to European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology (ESH-ESC) 2013 guidelines, in a sample of 1284 hypertensive subjects participating at the MINISAL-SIIA study. Hypertensive patients were recruited in 47 Italian centres, recognised by the Italian Society of Hypertension. Anthropometric indexes, blood pressure and 24-h urinary sodium (Na24h) and potassium (K24h) excretion were measured. Data on antihypertensive therapy were available for 1177 (92%) subjects. The population was divided into three groups (North, Central and South), according to their geographical location. Accounting only at the treatment criteria, the prevalence of RH was 8.2% (96/1177). RH prevalence in the southern, central and northern regions was respectively: 1, 3.8 and 3.3% (P

Introduction: Combination therapy is needed to control blood pressure (BP) in a large number of hypertensive patients with diabetes mellitus. Adherence to treatment is a major clinical problem; therefore, the time duration of the antihypertensive action of a drug determines BP control when a dose is skipped. Objectives: The aim was to determine whether the fixed-dose combination of olmesartan/amlodipine provides equal efficacy and safety as the perindopril/amlodipine combination when a drug dose is missed. Methods: In this noninferiority trial with a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy parallel group, controlled design, 260 patients received either olmesartan 20-40 mg/amlodipine 5-10 mg or perindopril 4-8 mg/amlodipine 5-10 mg for 24 weeks. The main outcome was the sitting office DBP after 24 weeks of treatment at 48 h from last administration. Results: The olmesartan/amlodipine combination reached noninferiority criteria in reduction of office DBP after 24 weeks of treatment and after the missed dose, compared with the perindopril/amlodipine combination (-11.7 and -10.5 mmHg, respectively). Office SBP and pulse pressure were significantly lower in both groups after 24 weeks of treatment and 48 h after the missed dose, observing a trend to greater SBP reduction in the olmesartan/amlodipine group. Conclusions: The combination olmesartan/amlodipine is safe, well tolerated, and as effective as the combination of perindopril/amlodipine in the control of essential hypertension in patients with diabetes mellitus. A missed dose does not leave the patients unprotected in both treatments; however, a faster control with less dose increment is observed with olmesartan/amlodipine.

AIM: Experimental and clinical evidence supports the view that right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) may parallel left ventricular hypertrophy in systemic hypertension; a comprehensive analysis of this issue, however, is lacking. Thus, we analyzed the literature in order to provide an updated information on the right ventricular structural changes associated to systemic hypertension. DESIGN: A literature search using the key words 'right ventricle' 'right ventricular hypertrophy', 'biventricular hypertrophy' 'right and left ventricular hypertrophy'. 'hypertension', 'echocardiography' was performed in order to identify relevant articles. Full articles published in English language in the last three decades reporting studies in adult hypertensive individuals were considered. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies, including 1290 untreated (45%) and treated hypertensive patients and 259 normotensive controls, were considered. Overall, in hypertensive individuals right ventricular wall was thicker than in normotensive counterparts (standardized difference 1.3 mm, P < 0.001). RVH prevalence consistently varied among studies (17.0-80.0%) with an average of 28.6% in the pooled population. This was also the case for LVH prevalence rates (9.0-100%) with an average value of 30.6%. CONCLUSION: Clinical studies consistently indicate that RVH is a common cardiac phenotype in systemic hypertension. As this finding is based on a limited number of cross-sectional studies including small population samples, further investigations are needed to determine the clinical utility and prognostic value of this phenotype in clinical practice. © 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams &Wilkins.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the prevalence of hypertension in an unselected human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected population and to identify factors associated with hypertension prevalence, treatment, and control. METHODS: We used a multicenter, cross-sectional, nationwide study that sampled 1,182 unselected, consecutive, HIV-infected patients. Office blood pressure was accurately measured with standard procedures. RESULTS: Patients were 71% men and 92% white, with a median age of 47 years (range = 18-78); 6% were antiretroviral treatment naive. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 29.3%; high-normal pressure accounted for an additional 12.3%. Among hypertensive subjects, 64.9% were aware of their hypertensive condition, 52.9% were treated, and 33.0% were controlled (blood pressure < 140/90 mm Hg). Blood pressure-lowering medications were used in monotherapy in 54.3% of the subjects. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers were the most frequently used drugs (76.1%: monotherapy = 39.1%, combination treatment = 37.0%). In multivariable regression models, hypertension was independently predicted by traditional risk factors, including age ≥50 years, male sex, family history of cardiovascular disease, body mass index ≥25 kg/m2, previous cardiovascular events, diabetes, central obesity, and metabolic syndrome, as well as by duration of HIV infection, duration of antiretroviral therapy, and nadir CD4+ T-cell count

PubMed ID: 25112663, Aims: Estimated central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) and amplification (Brachial SBP-cSBP) are non-invasive measures potentially prognostic of cardiovascular (CV) disease. No worldwide, multiple-device reference values are available. We aimed to establish reference values for a worldwide general population standardizing between the different available methods of measurement. How these values were significantly altered by cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) was then investigated. Methods and results: Existing data from population surveys and clinical trials were combined, whether published or not. Reference values of cSBP and amplification were calculatedas percentiles for 'Normal' (no CVRFs) and 'Reference' (any CVRFs) populations. We included 45 436 subjects out of 82 930 that were gathered from 77 studies of 53 centres. Included subjects were apparently healthy, not treated for hypertension or dyslipidaemia, and free from overt CV disease and diabetes. Values of cSBP and amplification were stratified by brachial blood pressure categories and age decade in turn, both being stratifiedbysex. Amplification decreased with age and more so in males than in females. Sex was the most powerful factor associated with amplification with 6.6 mmHg (5.8-7.4) higher amplification in males than in females. Amplification was marginally but significantly influenced by CVRFs, with smoking and dyslipidaemia decreasing amplification, but increased with increasing levels of blood glucose. Conclusion: Typical values of cSBP and amplification in a healthy population and a population free of traditional CVRFs are now available according to age, sex, and brachial BP, providing values included from different devices with a wide geographical representation. Amplification is significantly influenced by CVRFs, but differently in men and women. © 2014 Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.

INTRODUCTION:The aim of the study was to assess the age-specific, sex-specific, and region-specific average sodium and potassium intake and its association with anthropometric characteristics in a sample of the Italian adult hypertensive population. METHODS:A total of 1232 hypertensive patients were recruited consecutively by 47 centers recognized by the Italian Society of Hypertension. The enrolled participants were on stable antihypertensive treatment. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure, 24-h urinary sodium, and potassium excretion were measured and used as proxy for the average daily sodium and potassium intake. RESULTS:The average sodium intake was 172 mmol (or 10.1 g of salt/day) among men and 138 (or 8.1) among women, with no difference among geographical areas. Over 90% of men and 81% of women had a consumption higher than the recommended standard dietary intake of 5 g/day. The average potassium intake was 63 and 56 mmol, respectively in men and women, again without geographical differences, nearly 92% of men and 95% of women having an intake lower than the recommended intake (100 mmol/day or 3.9 g/day). There was a significant trend to a gradual decrease in sodium intake with age in both sexes (P

The variety of clinical information provided by the echocardiogram (i.e. assessment of left ventricular (LV) structure and geometry, systolic/diastolic function, left atrial and aortic size) in addition to its superior sensitivity for LV hypertrophy detection compared to electrocardiogram are strong arguments supporting the paramount importance of this technique in the assessment of hypertensive heart disease. A number of limitations of the echocardiographic technique, however, including lack of standardized/quantitative procedures, impair its diagnostic accuracy and cost-effectiveness. The aim of these recommendations is to provide a document on the minimum acceptable requirements for the clinical practice of echocardiography in the hypertensive setting and thus to improve the quality of this fundamental tool in the cardiovascular risk stratification of hypertensive patients. © 2013 Springer International Publishing.

Increased left ventricular mass (LVM) is often present in metabolic syndrome (MS), also in the setting of well-controlled blood pressure (BP). Aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a nutraceutical combination of berberine, red yeast rice extract and policosanol (Armolipid Plus™, AP) in reducing LVM in patients with MS and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 158 patients with MS (IDF criteria) and LVH (LVM48 g/mOne-hundred-and-forty-five patients (AP n = 74, placebo n = 71) completed the study. A significant percentage reduction in LVM was observed in AP group vs baseline (-2.7%, p 0.0001), and compared to placebo (-4.1%, p 0.0001), and remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, baseline systolic BP and BMI and their changes during the study period. The proportion of subjects showing LVM reduction was higher in AP group than in the placebo group (57% vs 28%, adjusted p = 0.007). Treatment with AP was associated with improvement of lipid profile.24-week of treatment with AP is associated with a significant reduction in LVM in subjects with MS and LVH, in addition to favourable effects on lipid profile, and could represent an effective strategy aiming at reducing the associated cardiovascular risk. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov with ID NCT02295176.

Background Nutraceuticals represent a new therapeutic frontier in the treatment of metabolic syndrom (MetS) and related cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of Armolipid Plus (AP) (berberine 500 mg, red yest rice, monacolin K 3 mg and policosanol 10 mg) on insulin resistance, lipid profile, particularly on small and dense LDL cholesterol (sdLDL-C), representing the most atherogenic components, as well as its effects on high sensitivity C-reactive protein, a notable marker of cardiovascular risk, blood pressure and cardiac remodeling in subjects affected by MetS, with left ventricular hypertrophy. Methods The study was a prospective, multi-center, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. One hundred and fifty eight patients, aged between 28 and 76 years old, were enrolled and randomized to receive either one tablet of AP or placebo (PL) once daily for 24 weeks. Anthropometric and vital parameters, total cholesterol (tot-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceridemia (TG), non-HDL cholesterol (NHDL-C) and sdLDL-C were evaluated. Results After 24 weeks of treatment, the analysis performed on 141 subjects (71 in AP arm and 70 in PL arm), showed a significant improvement of lipid profile in the AP group, with reduction in tot-C (− 13.2 mg/dl), LDL-C (− 13.9 mg/dl) and NHDL-C (− 15.3 mg/dl) and increase in HDL-C (+ 2.0 mg/dl). These changes were equally significant compared with placebo (tot-C: AP − 13.2 mg/dL vs PL + 2.7 mg/dL, p

Growing home comfort is causing increasing energy consumption in residential buildings and a consequent stress in urban medium and low voltage distribution networks. Therefore, distribution system operators are obliged to manage problems related to the reliability of the electricity system and, above all, they must consider investments for enhancing the electrical infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to assess how the reduction of building electricity consumption and the modification of the building load profile, due to load automation, combined with suitable load control programs, can improve network reliability and distribution efficiency. This paper proposes an extensive study on this issue, considering various operating scenarios with four load control programs with different purposes, the presence/absence of local generation connected to the buildings and different external thermal conditions. The study also highlights how different climatic conditions can influence the effects of the load control logics.

Hypertension is one of the major risk factor able to promote development and progression of several cardiovascular diseases, including left ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction, myocardial infarction, stroke, and congestive heart failure. Also, it is one of the major driven of high cardiovascular risk profile in patients with metabolic complications, including obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, as well as in those with renal disease. Thus, effective control of hypertension is a key factor for any preventing strategy aimed at reducing the burden of hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases in the clinical practice. Among various regulatory and contra-regulatory systems involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and renal diseases, renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a major role. However, despite the identification of renin and the availability of various assays for measuring its plasma activity, the specific pathophysiological role of RAS has not yet fully characterized. In the last years, however, several notions on the RAS have been improved by the results of large, randomized clinical trials, performed in different clinical settings and in different populations treated with RAS inhibiting drugs, including angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and antagonists of the AT1 receptor for angiotensin II (ARBs). These findings suggest that the RAS should be considered to have a central role in the pathogenesis of different cardiovascular diseases, for both therapeutic and preventive purposes, without having to measure its level of activation in each patient. The present document will discuss the most critical issues of the pathogenesis of different cardiovascular diseases with a specific focus on RAS blocking agents, including ACE inhibitors and ARBs, in the light of the most recent evidence supporting the use of these drugs in the clinical management of hypertension and hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases.

Background: Hypertension control is often inadequate in HIV patients. In a contemporary, nationwide cohort of Italian HIV-infected adults, we assessed time trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control. We also evaluated predictors of cardiovascular events and of new-onset hypertension. Methods: Multicenter prospective cohort study, sampling 961 consecutive HIV patients (71% men, mean age 46 ± 9 years, 30% hypertensive) examined in 2010-2014 and after a median follow-up of 3.4 years. Results: Among hypertensive patients, hypertension awareness (63% at baseline and 92% at follow-up), treatment (54 vs. 79%), and control (35 vs. 59%) all improved during follow-up. The incidence of new-onset hypertension was 50.1/1000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 41.2-60.3). Multivariable-adjusted predictors of hypertension were age, BMI, estimated cardiovascular risk, blood pressure, and advanced HIV clinical stage. In total, 35 new cardiovascular events were reported during follow-up (11.1/1000 person-years). In a multivariate model, baseline cardiovascular risk and hypertensive status predicted incident cardiovascular events, whereas a higher CD4 cell count had a protective role. In treated hypertensive patients, the use of integrase strand transfer inhibitors at follow-up was associated with a lower SBP (average yearly change,-3.8 ± 1.6 vs.-0.9 ± 0.5 mmHg in integrase strand transfer inhibitor users vs. nonusers, respectively, P = 0.02). Conclusion: Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control rates all improved in adult Italian HIV patients over the last few years, although hypertension remains highly prevalent (41%) in middle-aged HIV patients, and significantly impacts cardiovascular morbidity. Traditional risk factors and advanced HIV disease predict new-onset hypertension, whereas CD4 cell count favorably affects future cardiovascular events.

Brachial cuff blood pressure (BP) is clinically important, but may be an inaccurate substitute for central BP. Many non-invasive devices have been developed that purport to estimate central BP from peripheral artery sites, yet with no standardized guidelines; the accuracy testing of these new devices has not been undertaken in a uniform fashion with comparable protocols. This is an abridged paper describing the recommendations reached by an international task force convened to identify issues that need to be addressed and reach consensus relating to methods for assessing and reporting the accuracy (validation) of central BP devices. The recommendations are endorsed by the Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology (ARTERY) Society, as well as the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Working Group on Arterial Structure and Function, and the ESH Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability. Researchers interested in validating central BP monitors should read the full version of the statement.

Objective: HIV infection has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) is a more accurate and prognostically relevant measure of an individual's BP load than office BP, and the ambulatory BP-derived ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) and symmetric AASI (s-AASI) are established cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: In the setting of the HIV and HYpertension (HIV-HY) study, an Italian nationwide survey on high BP in HIV infection, 100 HIV-infected patients with high-normal BP or untreated hypertension (72% men, age 48 ± 10 years, BP 142/91 ± 12/7 mmHg) and 325 HIV-negative individuals with comparable age, sex distribution, and office BP (68% men, age 48 ± 10 years, BP 141/90 ± 11/8mmHg) underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring. Results: Despite having similar office BP, HIV-infected individuals had higher 24-h SBP (130.6 ± 14 vs. 126.4 ± 10 mmHg) and pulse pressure (49.1 ± 9 vs. 45.9 ± 7mmHg, both P < 0.001), and a lower day-night reduction of mean arterial pressure (14.3 ± 9 vs. 16.3 ± 7%, P = 0.025). Both s-AASI and AASI were significantly higher in HIV patients (s-AASI, 0.22 ± 0.18 vs. 0.11 ± 0.15; AASI, 0.46 ± 0.22 vs. 0.29 ± 0.17; both P

Objective: To identify and characterize HIV-infected patients at higher cardiovascular risk in ordinary clinical settings. Design: Multicenter, nationwide cross-sectional study. Methods: Consecutive HIV-patients, attending scheduled visits at facilities involved in the Italian coordination group for the study of allergies and HIV infection (CISAI), were included between February and April, 2005. Their 10-year probability of acute coronary events was calculated using the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) as well as 3 other cardiovascular algorithms ("PROCAM", "PROGETTO CUORE", "SCORE"); Metabolic Syndrome (MS) was diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program definitions. An estimated 10-year CVD ≥10% and/or MS led to the diagnosis of high CV risk. We compared selected clinical features between high- and low-risk patients. Results: A total of 1230 HIV infected patients (72% males, mean age of 43 ± 9 years), 185 of whom treatment-naïve, were evaluated. FRS gave the highest estimate of CV risk. The mean 10-year risk for acute coronary events according to FRS was 7.4 ± 7.0. MS was present in 22% of the observed patients. Accordingly, 443 patients (36%) were classified at high risk. Twelve percent of the patients (n = 142) had both a FRS ≥10% and a diagnosis of MS. The main single predictor of increased cardiovascular risk was smoking (60% of whole sample). A higher prevalence of clinically evident lipodystrophy and a higher CD4 T-cell counts were found both in patients with higher FRS and in patients with high FRS and MS (both p < 0.001). Conclusions: The worst estimation of CV risk was obtained with the FRS algorithm. Clinical evidence of lipodystrophy and higher CD4 T-cell counts were closely associated to a worse cardiovascular risk profile. © 2008 The British Infection Society.

Growing evidence associates blood pressure (BP) variability with cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. Here we tested the existence of a relationship between awake BP variability and target-organ damage in subjects referred for suspected hypertension. Systolic and diastolic BP variability were assessed as the standard deviation of the mean out of 24-hour, awake and asleep BP recordings in 180 untreated subjects, referred for suspected hypertension. Measurements were done at 15-minute intervals during daytime and 30-minute intervals during nighttime. Left ventricular mass index (by echo), intima-media thickness (by carotid ultrasonography), and microalbuminuria were assessed as indices of cardiac, vascular and renal damage, respectively. Intima-media thickness and left ventricular mass index progressively increased across tertiles of awake systolic BP variability ( P for trend=0.001 and 0.003, respectively). Conversely, microalbuminuria was similar in the 3 tertiles ( P =NS). Multivariable analysis identified age ( P =0.0001), awake systolic BP ( P =0.001), awake systolic BP variability ( P =0.015) and diastolic BP load ( P =0.01) as independent predictors of intima-media thickness; age ( P =0.0001), male sex ( P =0.012), awake systolic ( P =0.0001) and diastolic BP ( P =0.035), and awake systolic BP variability ( P =0.028) as independent predictors of left ventricular mass index; awake systolic BP variability ( P =0.01) and diastolic BP load ( P =0.01) as independent predictors of microalbuminuria. Therefore, awake systolic BP variability by non-invasive ambulatory BP monitoring correlates with sub-clinical target-organ damage, independent of mean BP levels. Such relationship, found in subjects referred for recently suspected hypertension, likely appears early in the natural history of hypertension.

Morning blood pressure (BP) surge has been reported to be a prognostic factor for cardiovascular events. Its determinants are still poorly defined, however. In particular, it is not clear whether ethnic differences play a role in determining morning surge (MS) size. Aim of our study was to explore whether differences exist in the size of MS between Japanese and Western European hypertensive patients. We included 2887 untreated hypertensive patients (age 62.3±8.8 years) from a European ambulatory BP monitoring database and 811 hypertensive patients from a Japanese database (Jichi Medical School Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring WAVE1, age 72.3±9.8 years) following the same inclusion criteria. Their 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring recordings were analyzed focusing on MS. Sleep-trough MS was defined as the difference between mean systolic BP during the 2 hours after awakening and mean systolic BP during the 1-hour night period that included the lowest sleep BP level. The sleep-trough MS was higher in Japanese than in European hypertensive patients after adjusting for age and 24-hour mean BP levels (40.1 [95% confidence interval 39.0–41.2] versus 23.0 [22.4–23.5] mm Hg; P

Cardiovascular risk profile was compared in 765 Italian HIV-infected outpatients enrolled in 2005 and in 765 individually age-matched and sex-matched patients enrolled in 2011. Median Framingham risk score was 8.6% in 2005 vs. 7.9% in 2011 (P = 0.04); metabolic syndrome was present in 40.3% vs. 33.4% (P = 0.006). Blood glucose, triglycerides, prevalence of smokers, and lipodystrophy were all significantly lower in 2011 (all P < 0.0001). Cardiovascular risk improved over a 6-year period in Italian HIV-infected patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Twenty-four-hour blood pressure (BP) variability, by ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), has been related to left ventricular hypertrophy, independent of mean BP values. We tested the hypothesis that short-term BP variability (BPV) is also related to subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction. METHODS We assessed 24-h SBP and DBP variabilities, quantified as standard deviation (SD) of daytime (awake) BP values and as weighted SD of 24-h BP (24-h-weighted BPV), in 309 recently (

O ver the last few years, increasing attention has been devoted to the pathophysiological role of large arteries in functionally coupling the left ventricle with peripheral vessels [1]. Particularly, an increasing number of articles have focused on the investigation of the functional properties of the large arteries, through the availability of devices able to allow the noninvasive analysis of arterial pulse waveforms in normal conditions, as well as the assessment of their modifications in a number of diseases [2,3]. Making use of this approach, evidence has been provided that arterial stiffness, assessed through the quantification of aortic pulse–wave velocity (PWV), may be a predictor of cardiovascular organ damage as well as of cardiovascular events [4,5]. On the basis of such evidence, aortic PWV has been included among those factors influencing prognosis in hypertensive patients, the evaluation of which may allow a more precise assessment of cardiovascular risk [6]. In spite of its universally acknowledged pathophysiologic and clinical value, however, aortic PWV has not become yet a routine procedure to assess the level of cardiovascular risk of hypertensive patients in daily clinical practice. This is mainly due to the need of dedicated and often expensive equipment for its assessment, as well as to the requirement of careful training of the personnel in charge of its measurement. These difficulties have stimulated research and development of new technologies to estimate arterial stiffness in humans in an easier manner, based on the obvious consideration that a technique able to assess arterial wall properties, without the need of using specially designed and costly equipment and without the mandatory requirement of carefully trained and highly qualified observers

Blood pressure (BP) values change significantly over time in response to environmental, behavioral, and emotional stimuli. These variations represent a complex phenomenon, and their assessment is possible by means of different BP measurement methodologies over different time windows: from beat to beat [very short-term BP variability (BPV)], within 24 h (from minute to minute, hour to hour and from day to night; short-term BPV), over different days (midterm day-by-day BPV), or between clinic visits performed over weeks, months, seasons, and years (long-term BPV) [1]. While in physiological conditions these variations represent an adaptive response to environmental stimulations from daily life, they may also reflect, however, alterations in cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms or underlying pathological conditions. The clinical significance of BPV has been supported by a large body of evidence showing that the BP-related cardiovascular risk may depend not only on average BP levels but also on the degree of BPV. Either in the short term (24 h), in the midterm (day-by-day), or in the long term (visit-to-visit), increasing values of BPV have been shown to be associated with development, progression, and severity of cardiac, vascular, and renal organ damage and with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (Fig. 28.1). The evidence is limited, however, regarding the question on whether increasing values of BP variability (considered as an early marker of autonomic dysregulation) may represent also a marker of future hypertension during the prehypertensive (or high normal BP) state. Aim of this chapter is to review the current evidence in the field of BPV regarding its mechanisms, the methodological aspects that should be considered for its assessment, its relevance and significance for cardiovascular prognosis as well as its potential for application in clinical practice. In its last part a brief mention is made on the possible role of BPV as a predictor of future hypertension, as well as on the possibility that the assessment of BPV might contribute to improve the management of subjects with high normal office BP elevation, also defined as prehypertension.

Imitation learning has been recognized as a promising technique to teach robots advanced skills. It is based on the idea that robots could learn new behaviors by observing and imitating the behaviors of other skilled actors. We propose an adaptive probabilistic graphical model which copes with three core issues of any imitative behavior: observation, representation and reproduction of skills. Our model, Growing Hierarchical Dynamic Bayesian Network (GHDBN), is hierarchical (i.e. able to characterize structured behaviors at different levels of abstraction), and growing (i.e. skills are learned or updated incrementally - and at each level of abstraction - every time a new observation sequence is available). A GHDBN, once trained, is able to recognize skills being observed and to reproduce them by exploiting the generative power of the model. The system has been successfully tested in simulation, and initial tests have been conducted on a NAO humanoid robot platform.

Background The interpretation of serial electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in hypertensive subjects is uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that serial changes in repolarization and voltage are independent determinants of outcome. Methods The Hypertrophy at ECG And its Regression during Treatment (HEART) Survey was a prospective observational study performed at 61 centers. We studied 711 subjects with hypertension and ECG left-ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) at entry. Tracings from 496 subjects at entry and one or more visits during follow-up were available for central reading. Results The prevalence of ECG LVH progressively decreased by 49.6% at 3 years. The crude rate of a prespecified primary composite end point of cardiovascular events was 4.17 per 100 subjects per year (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.27 to 5.33). We used Cox regression models of ECG LVH indexes as time-varying covariates at baseline and at follow-up. Time-varying LVH, defined as an absence of ST-T alterations (“strain”), was associated with a lower event rate hazard ratio (HR), 0.47; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.78; P = .0035), whereas the LVH changes defined in terms of ECG voltages did not achieve significance (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.13; P = .39). The crude event rate in subjects with versus without in-treatment ST-T alterations on the last available ECG before the event or before censoring was 8.38 versus 3.17 per 100 subjects per year ( P Conclusions In this study of subjects with hypertension and ECG LVH at entry, serial changes in repolarization significantly predicted the prognosis, independent of voltage change (which was not significantly predictive in this study). The persistence or new development of ST-T alterations identifies subjects at very high risk of cardiovascular events.

Blood pressure (BP) measured in the office is usually higher than the average ambulatory BP, a difference generally taken as an estimate of the white-coat effect. This study was designed to assess whether such a difference is associated with impairment of the conduit arterial system.We calculated the difference between office and average daytime peak systolic blood pressure (DeltaSBP) in 2778 hypertensive participants (1240 women) of the Progetto Ipertensione Umbria Monitoraggio Ambulatoriale cohort. Arterial stiffness was evaluated using an adjusted office pulse pressure to stroke volume ratio (PP/SV), measured at rest, which has previously been shown to predict cardiovascular outcome independent of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy. Effective arterial elastance was also estimated.Across quintiles of PP/SV, significant linear, positive trends were found with age, the proportion of women, plasma glucose and triglyceride levels (0.05P0.0001). Heart rate measured in the office increased mildly with quintiles of PP/SV (P0.05). After adjusting for age, sex, body weight and office heart rate, DeltaSBP progressively increased with increasing quintiles of PP/SV (P for trend0.0001), whereas stroke volume decreased, paralleling the increase in left ventricular relative wall thickness (both P0.0001) and left ventricular mass index (P0.05). The significant increase in effective arterial elastance with quintiles of PP/SV was also independent of peak systolic BP, in addition to age, sex, heart rate and body weight.The difference between office BP and ambulatory BP, an estimate of the white-coat effect, is strongly associated with increased arterial stiffness, evaluated by a two-element fluid system accumulator.

ObjectivesWe sought to assess the prognostic value of alterations in left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in patients with essential hypertension.BackgroundAlterations in LV diastolic function are frequent in patients with hypertension, even in the absence of LV hypertrophy, but their prognostic significance has never been investigated.MethodsIn the setting of the Progetto Ipertensione Umbria Monitoraggio Ambulatoriale (PIUMA) study, we followed, for up to 11 years (mean: 4.4 years), 1,839 Caucasian hypertensive patients (50 ± 12 years, 53% men, blood pressure (BP) 156/98 mm Hg) without previous cardiovascular events, who underwent Doppler echocardiography and 24-h BP monitoring before therapy. The early/atrial (E/A) mitral flow velocity ratio was calculated and corrected for age and heart rate (HR).ResultsDuring follow-up, there were 164 major cardiovascular events (2.04 per 100 patient-years). The incidence of cardiovascular events was 2.47 and 1.65 per 100 patient-years in patients with an age- and HR-adjusted E/A ratio below (n = 919) and above (n = 920) the median value, respectively (p < 0.005 by the log-rank test). In Cox analysis, controlling for age, gender, diabetes, cholesterol, smoking, LV mass and 24-h systolic BP (all p < 0.05), a low age- and HR-adjusted E/A ratio conferred an increased risk of cardiovascular events (odds ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11 to 2.18, p < 0.01). A 21% excess risk was found for each 0.3 decrease of the adjusted E/A ratio (95% CI from +2% to +43%; p = 0.03).ConclusionsImpaired LV early diastolic relaxation, detected by pulsed Doppler echocardiography, identifies hypertensive patients at increased cardiovascular risk. Such association is independent of LV mass and ambulatory BP.