Pulsology reloaded: commentary on similar effects of treatment on central and brachial blood pressure in older hypertensive subjects.

摘要

The Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) Study,1 the Second Australian National Blood Pressure Trial (ANBP2),2 and the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiovascular Outcome Trials3 have shown that different antihypertensive treatments may have different impacts on the rate of events in hypertension while achieving comparable brachial blood pressure (BP) reduction. Thus, although brachial BP estimation by classic Riva-Rocci cuff sphygmomanometer and the Korotkoff auscultatory technique have provided almost all of our knowledge on epidemiology, prognosis, and treatment of hypertension,4-5 recent trials1"3 are revealing intrinsic limitations of the conventional approach, because the real goal of treatment in hypertension is the reduction in the number and the rate of untoward events.