Influence of beat-to-beat blood pressure variability on vascular elasticity in hypertensive population

Whether elevated beat-to-beat blood pressure variability (BPV) has an influence on vascular elasticity is confounded and poorly understood. This study hypothesized that the increased BPV could have an adverse effect on the vascular elasticity, as estimated by total arterial compliance (TAC), independent of blood pressure (BP) values. Beat-to-beat BP and TAC were measured in 81 hypertensive patients (experimental population) and in 80 normal adults (control population). Beat-to-beat BPV was assessed by standard deviation (SD), average real variability (ARV), residual standard deviation (RSD) and variation independent of mean (VIM). In experimental population, systolic BPV (SBPV) showed a significant correlation with TAC (SD, r = -0.326, p < 0.001; ARV, r = -0.277, p = 0.003; RSD, r = -0.382, p < 0.001; VIM, r = -0.274, p = 0.003); similarly, SD, RSD and VIM of diastolic BP (DBP) also showed explicit correlation with TAC (r = -0.255, p = 0.006; r = -0.289, p = 0.002; r = -0.219, p = 0.019; respectively). However, in the control population, neither SBPV nor diastolic BPV (DBPV) showed a significant correlation with TAC. Furthermore, in the experimental population, VIM of systolic BP (SBP) was also a determinant of TAC (beta = -0.100, p = 0.040) independent of average SBP, DBP, age and body mass index. In conclusion, these data imply that beat-to-beat BPV, especially SBPV, shows an independent correlation with vascular elasticity in hypertensive population.