Central pressures and central hemodynamic values in white coat hypertensives are closer to those of normotensives than to those of controlled hypertensives for similar age, gender, and 24-h and nocturnal blood pressures.
INTRODUCTION
There is disagreement whether white coat hypertensives (WCH) have different hemodynamic and structural characteristics compared to normotensives (NT) and hypertensives (HT).


METHODS
We compared cardiovascular prognostic markers (pulse wave velocity [PWV] and aortic stiffness index [ASI]) and data on central hemodynamics and central pressures (augmentation index [AIx], augmentation pressure [AugP] and pulse pressure amplification [PPA]) from aortic pulse wave analysis between NT (n=175), WCH (n=315) and treated HT (n=691), all with 24-h blood pressure (BP) <130/80 and nocturnal BP <120/70 mmHg after matching for age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and and nocturnal BP. The groups were also compared separately in terms of 24-h systolic BP <120 mmHg and 120-129 mmHg.


RESULTS
The percentage of non-dippers was 40.1% in NT, 34.5% in WCH and 38.3 in HT. For similar 24-h and nocturnal systolic BP (NT 109/64±7/5, WCH 110/66±7/6, HT 109/64±7/5 mmHg), aortic stiffness was greater in HT (n=691, PWV 10.8±2.6 m/s and ASI 0.33±0.16, p<0.01) than in WCH (n=316, PWV 9.7±2.4 m/s and ASI 0.28±0.17) and NT (n=175, PWV 9.5±2.0 m/s and ASI 0.29±0.15); AugP and AIx were higher (p<0.01) in HT (13.9±8.2 and 29.6±12.6 mmHg) than in WCH (11.5±8.5 mmHg and 24.9±15.2) and NT (11.0±6.4 mmHg and 26.6±11.5). PPA was lower (p<0.01) in HT (11.3±5.5 mmHg) than in WCH (13.2±7.1 mmHg) and in NT (12.4±4.9 mmHg). The findings were similar when the 24-h systolic BP <120 mmHg and 120-129 mmHg subgroups were analyzed separately.


CONCLUSION
Our data suggest that for similar age, gender distribution, BMI, and 24-h and nocturnal BP, aortic stiffness, central aortic pressures and wave reflection in WCH are closer to those of NT than to those with treated HT. This supports the idea that white coat hypertension may be a more benign condition than treated hypertension for similar 24-h and particularly nocturnal BP levels.
['Almeida|Joana|J|', 'Monteiro|José|J|', 'Silva|José A|JA|', 'Bertoquini|Susana|S|', 'Polónia|Jorge|J|']
D000367:Age Factors D001794:Blood Pressure D001795:Blood Pressure Determination D015992:Body Mass Index D002940:Circadian Rhythm D005260:Female D006439:Hemodynamics D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis D012737:Sex Factors D059289:Vascular Stiffness D059466:White Coat Hypertension
White coat hypertension Nocturnal blood pressure Aortic stiffness Central aortic pressures Wave reflection Hipertensão da bata branca Ondas refletidas Pressão arterial noturna Pressão central Rigidez aórtica