Prognostic significance of the wall to lumen ratio of retinal arterioles evaluated by adaptive optics.

Objective: Microvascular structural alterations may be considered an important form of hypertension-mediated organ damage. An increased media-to-lumen ratio of subcutaneous small arteries evaluated with locally invasive techniques (micromyography) predicts the development of cardiovascular (CV) events. However, it is not known whether retinal arteriole structural alterations evaluated with a noninvasive approach (Adaptive Optics) may have a prognostic significance.

Hypertension and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: position paper by the European Society of Hypertension.

Hypertension constitutes a major risk factor for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HFpEF is a prevalent clinical syndrome with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Specific guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for HFpEF is not established due to lack of positive outcome data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and limitations of available studies.

The UrgeRe (Urgenze Ipertensive: Un Progetto Educazionale Fondato Sulla Vita Reale, Hypertensive Urgencies: A Project in the Real World) Project.

The approach to hypertensive emergiencies (HE) and urgencies (HU) may be different according to local clinical practice, despite recent guidelines and position papers recommendations. The Italian Society of Hypertension (Società Italiana della Ipertensione Arteriosa, SIIA) developed an online survey, in order to explore the awareness, management and treatment of HU in Italy, sending by e mail a 12 items questionnaire to the members of the SIIA. The results show that the definition of HU was correctly identified by 62% of the responders.

Relationships between diuretic-related hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events: data from the URic acid Right for heArt Health study.

Objective: Although the relationship between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events has been extensively examined, data on the role of diuretic-related hyperuricemia are still scanty. The present study was designed to collect information on the relationship between diuretic-related hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events.

Methods: The URic acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) study is a nationwide, multicentre, observational cohort study involving data on individuals recruited from all the Italy territory under the patronage of the Italian Society of Hypertension with an average follow-up period of 122.

How important is blood pressure variability?

Arterial blood pressure (BP) is a continuous variable, with a physiology characterized by significant variability stemming from the complex interaction among haemodynamic factors, neuronal reflexes, as well as hormonal, behavioural, and environmental stimuli. The homoeostatic response accounts for the physiologic variability in BP in normotensive individuals, which is more evident in hypertensive patients. Blood pressure variability is a complex phenomenon, which could be classified in various types: (beat to beat), (during 24 h), (day by day), (<5 years), and (>5 years).