Alerting reaction during BP reading tied to CVD death

An alerting reaction during the first blood pressure (BP) reading is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among adults, reveals a study.

A total of 11,146 adults (mean age 47.1 years, 51.5 percent men) from a German population-based cohort were enrolled in this study. The investigators assessed the risk factors and CVD mortality risk associated with an alerting reaction in these individuals.

Of the participants, 10.2 percent had an alerting reaction, which correlated with sociodemographic, lifestyle, and somatic CVD risk factors. Overall, CVD mortality occurred in 1,420 individuals within a mean follow-up period of 22.7 years (max: 32 years; 253,201 person-years).

The rate of CVD deaths associated with an alerting reaction was significantly greater when compared with normotension (64 vs 32 cases per 10,000 person-years) but lower relative to hypertension (64 vs 118 cases per 10,000 person-years).

In addition, the alerting reaction contributed to a 23-percent higher risk of CVD mortality compared with normal BP (hazard ratio [HR], 1.23, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.02‒1.49; p=0.04). This association was attenuated when adjusting for use of antihypertensive medication (HR, 1.19, 95 percent CI, 0.99‒1.44; p=0.06).

“The results may warrant monitoring of an alerting reaction as a preventive measure of CVD mortality in untreated individuals with elevated first BP readings, as well as optimized treatment in treated individuals,” the investigators said.