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Assessment and management of blood-pressure variability

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 10, pages 143–155 (2013)Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 01 April 2014

This article has been updated

Abstract

Blood pressure (BP) is characterized by marked short-term fluctuations occurring within a 24 h period (beat-to-beat, minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, and day-to-night changes) and also by long-term fluctuations occurring over more-prolonged periods of time (days, weeks, months, seasons, and even years). Rather than representing 'background noise' or a randomly occurring phenomenon, these variations have been shown to be the result of complex interactions between extrinsic environmental and behavioural factors and intrinsic cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms. Although the adverse cardiovascular consequences of hypertension largely depend on absolute BP values, evidence from observational studies and post-hoc analyses of data from clinical trials have indicated that these outcomes might also depend on increased BP variability (BPV). Increased short-term and long-term BPV are associated with the development, progression, and severity of cardiac, vascular, and renal damage and with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Of particular interest are the findings from post-hoc analyses of large intervention trials in hypertension, showing that within-patient visit-to-visit BPV is strongly prognostic for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This result has prompted discussion on whether antihypertensive treatment should be targeted not only towards reducing mean BP levels but also to stabilizing BPV with the aim of achieving consistent BP control over time, which might favour cardiovascular protection.

Key Points

  • Blood-pressure variability (BPV) is a complex phenomenon that includes short-term fluctuations occurring within a 24 h period as well as blood pressure changes over more-prolonged periods of time

  • The underlying mechanisms, clinical significance, and prognostic implications differ between types of BPV; thus, when interpreting BPV, the method and time interval of its measurement should be taken into account

  • Mounting evidence indicates that the adverse cardiovascular consequences of high blood pressure could also be the result of increased BPV, and not only of elevation of mean blood pressure values

  • Short-term and long-term BPV are independently associated with the development, progression, and severity of cardiac, vascular, and renal damage and with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality

  • Post-hoc analyses of large intervention trials in patients with hypertension have shown that intraindividual and interindividual visit-to-visit BPVs are strong predictors of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality

  • Whether treatment with antihypertensive agents should be targeted towards stabilizing BPV in addition to controlling mean blood pressure values, to achieve maximum cardiovascular protection, is uncertain

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Figure 1: Various types of BPV, their determinants, and prognostic relevance for cardiovascular and renal outcomes.
Figure 2: Short-term BPV and subclinical organ damage (cross-sectional study).
Figure 3: Short-term BPV and subclinical organ damage (longitudinal study).
Figure 4: Hazard ratio (HR) for MI or stroke according to the percentage of clinic visits with BP <140/90 mmHg.
Figure 5: Measurement and prognostic relevance of SI.
Figure 6: Visit-to-visit BPV, carotid atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular events in the European Lacidipine Study on Atherosclerosis.121

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Change history

  • 01 April 2014

    In the version of this article originally published, the author affiliations were incorrectly stated. The addresses should have been: Department of Cardiology, S. Luca Hospital, IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Piazza Brescia 20, Milan 20149, Italy (G. Parati, J. E. Ochoa, C. Lombardi, G. Bilo). University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cador 48, Monza 20900, Italy (G. Parati, J. E. Ochoa). This error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, S. Luca Hospital, IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Piazza Brescia 20, Milan, 20149, Italy

    Gianfranco Parati, Juan E. Ochoa, Carolina Lombardi & Grzegorz Bilo

  2. University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cador 48, Monza, 20900, Italy

    Gianfranco Parati & Juan E. Ochoa

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  1. Gianfranco Parati
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  2. Juan E. Ochoa
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  4. Grzegorz Bilo
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All the authors substantially contributed to the research, writing, and reviewing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gianfranco Parati.

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Competing interests

G. Parati has received honoraria from Pfizer. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Parati, G., Ochoa, J., Lombardi, C. et al. Assessment and management of blood-pressure variability. Nat Rev Cardiol 10, 143–155 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.1

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