By Ahmed El-Medany
Presented by Dr. Chiriacò at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions, a prospective study including 349 diabetic participants assessed the long-term effects of elevated blood pressure at night.
‘It is important that health care professionals look for abnormal blood pressure dipping patterns in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes,’ Chiriacò said. ‘There are strategies to reduce blood pressure during the night.
‘During the study period (median follow-up 21 years) those that demonstrated either <10% reduction, or >0.1% increase in average nightly systolic BP compared with average daytime systolic BP, had an increased risk for all-cause mortality (HR = 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.8).
Of note, the researchers observed no significant association between BP patterns, heart rate variability and diabetes type on overall survival.
Source: Chiriacò M, et al. Presentation T1. Presented at: American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions; Sept. 27-29, 2021 (virtual meeting).
