Ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive patients with inclusion criteria for the SPRINT trial

We aimed to characterize 24-hour blood pressure (BP) values and categories in patients with inclusion/exclusion criteria of the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention (SPRINT) trial from the Spanish ABPM Registry. We selected patients older than 50 years, with office systolic BP (SBP) above 130 mm Hg and at high cardiovascular risk, but without diabetes, previous stroke, or symptomatic heart failure. Ambulatory BP was compared among BP categories. A total of 39,132 patients (34%) fulfilled inclusion criteria of SPRINT trial. Ambulatory SBP was considerably lower than office BP, with 42% of patients having daytime values below 130 mm Hg and 21% 24-hour values below 120 mm Hg. In conclusion, more than one-third of the hypertensive population included in the Spanish ABPM Registry can be considered as SPRINT candidates, although one out of five have values of 24-hour SBP below 120 mm Hg. These data suggest that knowledge of ABPM values could be helpful when planning a treatment intensification in high-risk patients.