Distribution of central blood pressure values estimated by Omron HEM-9000AI in the Japanese general population

Central blood pressure is more closely associated with cardiovascular events and target organ damage than peripheral blood pressure measured over the brachium using a conventional method. This study was designed to investigate the distribution of central systolic blood pressure values estimated by Omron HEM-9000AI in the Japanese general population. A cross-sectional study were performed in 10,756 subjects without overt cardiovascular disease (male=6574; mean age 55.3±12.5 years, range 20-91 years). Of these, 7348 subjects received no antihypertensive, antidiabetic or lipid-lowering drug treatment, and were used for the present analysis. Estimated central systolic blood pressure was higher than brachial systolic blood pressure and was significantly correlated with age and brachial blood pressure. The central systolic blood pressure values obtained from subjects without cardiovascular risk factors other than hypertension were 125.8±37.2 (mean±2 s.d., n=3760) mm Hg. The values obtained from subjects with no cardiovascular risk factors were 112.6±19.2 (n=1975) mm Hg for optimal and 129.2±14.9 mm Hg for normal brachial blood pressure categories (n=697). This study is the first to show the distribution of central systolic blood pressure values estimated using the Omron HEM-9000AI, marking an important step toward implementing the clinical use of central blood pressure in the diagnosis and management of hypertension.