Assessment of Arterial Stiffness, Brachial Haemodynamics, and Central Haemodynamics in Diabetic Hypertensives: A Pulse Wave Analysis-Based Case-Control Study from an Urban Area of West India.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension (HTN) and diabetes frequently coexist, imposing significant cardiovascular risk that is normally studied in terms of brachial blood pressure (bBP). Direct and superior parameters like central haemodynamics and arterial stiffness are studied scarcely. Pulse wave analysis (PWA) offers a non-invasive measurement of the same that we studied in diabetic hypertensives.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a case-control study on 333 treated diabetic hypertensive cases and 333 euglycaemic normotensive controls. Oscillometric PWA was performed by Mobil-o-Graph (IEM, Aachen, Germany). Parameters were further analysed in relation to gender, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), glycaemic control, blood pressure control, and disease duration (cut-off 5 years). Multiple linear regressions were done to find significant associations.
RESULTS: Cases had significantly higher brachial haemodynamics (blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and rate pressure product); arterial stiffness measures (augmentation pressure, augmentation index, pulse wave velocity, total arterial stiffness, and pulse pressure amplification), and central haemodynamics (central blood pressure, cardiac output, stroke work) than controls. In the case group, female gender, BMI ≥23, and uncontrolled blood pressures were significant factors that affected the results while other factors such as glycaemic control, physical activity, and duration did not. HR was significantly associated with study parameters. Brachial pressures were not significantly associated with corresponding aortic pressures.
CONCLUSION: Diabetic hypertensives had adverse profile of cardiovascular parameters beyond bBP, related to female gender, and HTN and its control, more than that of diabetes. This baseline work suggests further study on these potential parameters.