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Role of antihypertensive drugs in arterial 'de-stiffening' and central pulsatile hemodynamics
American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, 05/16/2012
Koumaras C et al. – Different antihypertensive drugs produce diverse effects on arterial stiffness variables, despite similar effects on peripheral (brachial) blood pressure. Identifying the pharmacologic interventions that can improve arterial stiffness ('de–stiffening' treatment) is a promising field of research.
- Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension, as well as a potential therapeutic target.
- There is increasing awareness that the pulsatile hemodynamics (central blood pressure [CBP], pulse pressure [PP], wave reflections [augmentation index or AIx] and pulse wave velocity [PWV]) may provide better insight into the pathophysiology of CV disorders and target organ damage related to hypertension.