BLOOD-PRESSURE AND HEART-RATE-VARIABILITY IN ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

In elderly hypertensive patients (HP) blood pressure (BP) and heart ra te (HR) control and variability seem to be affected by a reduced baror eceptor sensitivity, or autonomic dysfunction, and concomitant cardiov ascular diseases. Therefore, the aim of present study was to investiga te the circadian profiles and variability of BP and HR, by means of a 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring, in a group of 22 elderly HP compared with those of a group of 24 middle aged patients with essential hyper tension. Many differences in BP and HR profile and variability were ob served in elderly HP when compared to those of middle aged HP, such as significantly lower diurnal diastolic BP values. lower nocturnal BP f all, lower diurnal HR but with a greater diurnal variability. Converse ly, in middle aged HP a significantly greater diurnal systolic BP vari ability was observed, and a significant correlation was found between hourly diastolic BP and hourly HR values, while in elderly HP this cor relation was not detectable. The changes in BP and HR profile and vari ability observed in elderly HP may play a role as risk factors for car diovascular complications and indicate a dysfunction of autonomic and nonautonomic factors in BP control.