Relationship between serum uric acid, nocturnal hypertension and risk for preeclampsia in high-risk pregnancies.

To analyze the possible association between serum uric acid (SUA) and nocturnal hypertension and to evaluate the ability of these variables (alone or in combination) to predict preeclampsia (PE) we conducted a historical cohort study in 532 high-risk pregnancies. Women were divided according to SUA values and nocturnal blood pressure (BP) into four groups: 1- normal SUA and nocturnal normotension; 2- high SUA and nocturnal normotension; 3- normal SUA and nocturnal hypertension and 4- high SUA and nocturnal hypertension. High SUA was defined by the top quartile values and nocturnal hypertension as BP ≥ 120/70 mmHg, using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), during nocturnal rest.

Uncontrolled and masked uncontrolled blood pressure in treated pregnant women with chronic hypertension and risk for preeclampsia/eclampsia.

To analyze the relationship between the level of BP achieved with treatment and the risk for development of preeclampsia/eclampsia (PE), we conducted a historical cohort study on 149 consecutive pregnant women with treated chronic hypertension, evaluated between January 1, 2016, and November 31, 2022. According to office BP readings and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) performed after 20 weeks of gestation, the cohort was classified in controlled hypertension, white-coat uncontrolled hypertension, masked uncontrolled hypertension and sustained hypertension. Risks for the development of PE were estimated using logistic regression.

Do antihypertensive drugs combinations in single-pill combination improve cardiovascular outcomes?

Recommendations and guidelines propose to combine antihypertensive drugs to improve BP control, highlighting the advantages of single-pill combinations (SPCs) to improve treatment adherence. It is speculated that, compared with free-dose combinations (Free-DCs), SPC should achieve a reduction in cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality through better adherence and BP control. However, there is little information in this regard.

Hypertension arising after 20 weeks of gestation: gestational hypertension or masked chronic hypertension?

The objectives of this study were 1-to evaluate the prevalence of masked chronic hypertension in pregnant women classified as gestational hypertension 2-to compare the risks of developing preeclampsia in true gestational hypertension vs those women classified as having gestational hypertension but who had had masked hypertension in the first half of pregnancy. We conducted a cohort study in consecutive high-risk pregnancies who were evaluated before 20 weeks of gestation. Women who developed gestational hypertension (normotension in the office before 20 weeks of gestation and office BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg and/or antihypertensive treatment in the second half of gestation) were divided, according to an ABPM performed before 20 weeks of pregnancy, in two subgroups: subgroup 1-if their ABPM was normal, and subgroup 2-if they had masked chronic hypertension.

Masked hypertension and neonatal outcome in high-risk pregnancies.

We previously showed that masked hypertension is a frequent finding in high-risk pregnancies and a strong predictor of preeclampsia/eclampsia. However, neonatal consequences of masked hypertension have not been deeply analyzed. Consequently, the aim of this study was to determine if masked hypertension is a risk factor for poor neonatal outcome.

Nocturnal hypertension and risk of developing early-onset preeclampsia in high-risk pregnancies.

To test the hypothesis that nocturnal hypertension identifies risk for early-onset preeclampsia/eclampsia (PE), we conducted an historical cohort study of consecutive high-risk pregnancies between 1st January 2016 and 31st March 2020. Office blood pressure (BP) measurements and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) were performed. The cohort was divided into patients without PE or with early- or late-onset PE (<34 and ≥34 weeks of gestation, respectively).

Arterial Stiffness: Its Relation with Prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome and Possible Pathogenesis.

Aims: To evaluate arterial stiffness indicators in people with prediabetes (PreD) and its possible pathogenesis.

Materials And Methods: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured in 208 people with FINDRISC ≥ 13 (57 ± 8 years old, 68.7% women) and thereafter divided into those having either normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or PreD.

Adherence to antihypertensive drug treatment in Argentina: A multicenter study.

Adherence to antihypertensive medication is an important challenge that doctors often face in the treatment of hypertension. Good adherence is crucial to prevent cardiovascular complications. In consequence, the present study aimed at determining the prevalence of adherence to antihypertensive treatment and identifying associated clinical variables.

Evaluation of ventricular-arterial coupling by impedance cardiography in healthy volunteers.

Background: The interplay between cardiac function and the arterial system is currently defined as ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC) and it is an expression of global cardiovascular efficiency. VAC involves a variety of complex interactions between the heart and the vasculature. A basic index of VAC is the ratio of effective arterial elastance (Ea)/ end-systolic elastance (Ees).

Prevalence of isolated nocturnal hypertension according to 2018 European Society of Cardiology and European Society of Hypertension office blood pressure categories.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of isolated nocturnal hypertension (INH) and its relationships with office blood pressure (BP) categories defined by 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in consecutive patients referred to perform an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for diagnosis or therapeutic purposes. Office BP measurements and ABPM were performed in the same visit.

Hypertension control in Argentina, in the middle of a long road.

In Argentina, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and represent 1/3 of total mortality. In 2017, hypertension prevalence for inhabitants ≥18 years old was 36.3%, and its level of knowledge and control (<140/90 mm Hg) were 61% and 24%, respectively.

Office blood pressure values and the necessity of out-of-office measurements in high-risk pregnancies.

Objectives: To determine if there is an office blood pressure (BP) value below which out-of-office measurements are unnecessary in high-risk pregnant women.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in women in the second half of high-risk pregnancies. Office BP measurements and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was performed.

Nocturnal hypertension in high-risk mid-pregnancies predict the development of preeclampsia/eclampsia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test if hypertension detected by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) performed at mid-pregnancy, is a useful predictor for preeclampsia/eclampsia (PEEC).

Methods: The study was performed in women coursing high-risk mid-pregnancies. Office blood pressure (BP) was estimated as the mean of three values, taken by a specialized nurse after a 15-min interview, and office hypertension defined as at least 140/90 mmHg.

Could self-measured office blood pressure be a hypertension screening tool for limited-resources settings?

Blood pressure (BP) was assessed by patients themselves in recently published trials. Self-measured office blood pressure (SMOBP) seems particularly interesting for limited health resources regions. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between SMOBP values and those estimated by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

Nocturnal but not Diurnal Hypertension Is Associated to Insulin Resistance Markers in Subjects With Normal or Mildly Elevated Office Blood Pressure.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the relationships among insulin resistance markers and nocturnal and diurnal hypertension in normotensive or mildly untreated hypertensive adults.

Methods: The study was performed in both female and male adults referred to the Cardiometabolic Unit of the Hospital San Martín, La Plata, Argentina, in order to perform an ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) for the evaluation of a possible hypertensive disorder. The population was stratified according to their ABPM in: 1-presence or absence of diurnal hypertension and 2-presence or absence of nocturnal hypertension; both conditions were analyzed separately.

Risk of cardiovascular disease according to blood pressure categories in an argentinian cohort.

Background: Hypertension is a recognized strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, no data was available in our country to quantify the relationship between blood pressure and cardiovascular event.

Objective: to quantify the risk of cardiovascular events according to blood pressure categories.

Significance of masked and nocturnal hypertension in normotensive women coursing a high-risk pregnancy.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the prevalence of nocturnal and masked hypertension and the prognostic values of these blood pressure (BP) abnormalities in normotensive women coursing a high-risk pregnancy.

Methods: The study was performed in pregnant women with 20 or more weeks of gestation coursing a high-risk pregnancy, sent to a specialized hypertension department to perform a prospective defined protocol of BP evaluation. Women with office BP at least 140/90 mmHg were excluded.

Insulin resistance: The linchpin between prediabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that cardiovascular disease occurs to the greatest extent in persons with prediabetes mellitus who are also insulin resistant. In 2003, 664 non-diabetic women (n = 457) and men (n = 207), aged 52 ± 16 and 53 ± 15 years, were surveyed during a programme for cardiovascular disease prevention. Fasting plasma glucose concentrations defined participants as having normal fasting plasma glucose (fasting plasma glucose <5.

Use of the plasma triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio to identify cardiovascular disease in hypertensive subjects.

This analysis evaluated the hypothesis that the plasma triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration ratio can help identify patients with essential hypertension who are insulin-resistant, with the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile associated with that defect. Data from a community-based study developed between 2003 and 2012 were used to compare CVD risk factors and outcome. Plasma TG/HDL-C cut-points of 2.

Do differences in waist circumference modify the relationships among body mass index, insulin resistance, and related cardiometabolic risk factors in apparently healthy women?

Objective: The aims of the study were to (1) compare the cardiometabolic risk profile between insulin-resistant and non-insulin-resistant women within similar body mass indexes (BMIs) and waist circumference (WC) groupings and (2) test the hypothesis that measurements of BMI are not inferior to WC in identifying insulin resistance.

Methods: The sample consisted of 899 women without known cardiovascular disease or diabetes. BMI was used to divide participants in normal (<25.

Identification of cardiometabolic risk: visceral adiposity index versus triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio.

Background: The plasma concentration ratio of triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) can identify cardiometabolic risk and cardiovascular disease. The visceral adiposity index is a sex-specific index, in which measurements of body mass index and waist circumference are combined with TG and HDL-C concentrations. The current analysis was initiated to see if the visceral adiposity index would improve the ability of the TG/HDL-C to identify increased cardiometabolic risk and outcome.

Blood pressure response to a community-based program and long-term cardiovascular outcome.

Background: The significance in terms of the cardiovascular outcome of different patterns of blood pressure (BP) response to community-based activities has not been previously studied. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between changes of BP observed during a community-based program and long-term rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.

Methods: A program focused on the prevention of CVDs was implemented in a small city in Argentina over a 6-year period (1997-2003).

Comparison of the abilities of the plasma triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and the metabolic syndrome to identify insulin resistance.

This study compares the ability of an elevated triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio, using sex-specific cut-points, to identify insulin-resistant individuals within a population without known cardiac disease or diabetes with that obtained using the diagnostic criteria of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Measurements were made of waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, fasting plasma insulin (FPI), plasma TG and plasma HDL-C concentrations in 1102 women and 464 men. These data were used to classify subjects as being insulin resistant (FPI concentration in the upper quartile) and having the MetS or an elevated TG/HDL-C ratio (>2.

Relation among the plasma triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration ratio, insulin resistance, and associated cardio-metabolic risk factors in men and women.

Results of recent studies using the ratio of plasma triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration to identify insulin-resistant patients at increased cardiometabolic risk have emphasized that the cut point used for this purpose will vary with race. Because TG and HDL cholesterol concentrations vary with gender, this analysis was initiated to define gender-specific plasma TG/HDL cholesterol concentration ratios that best identified high-risk subjects among women (n = 1,102) and men (n = 464) of primarily European ancestry. Insulin resistance was defined as the 25% of the population with the highest values for fasting plasma insulin concentration and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance.

Optimal uric acid threshold to identify insulin resistance in healthy women.

Background: Identifying insulin-resistant (IR) individuals is an issue of particular interest in the assessment of cardiometabolic risk, but there is no simple way to accomplish this task. Our aims were to determine the relationship between uric acid and insulin resistance and to define the optimal uric acid cutoff to identify insulin resistance in women.

Methods: A population-based sample of 588 women without cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was divided according to uric acid tertiles.