Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2926089 Hipertensión 2007 4 Pages PDF
Abstract
Brachial diastolic blood pressure (DBP), in relation to brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP), is a useful marker of central blood pressure (BP) because it is not distorted by pressure amplification. Discordantly low DBP may be an early marker of increased cardiac output/stroke volume and/or arterial stiffness in young adults and a late marker of ventricular-arterial stiffness in the elderly. Discordantly elevated DBP at any age is a marker of increased peripheral vascular resistance -typical of essential hypertension in adolescents and young adults- and when severely elevated suggestive of urgent/emergent and secondary causes of hypertension, especially in the elderly. Very severe diastolic hypertension should raise a “red flag”, both for prompt diagnosis and for aggressive and effective antihypertensive therapy.
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