Subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), calculated through pulse wave analysis, is an index of myocardial oxygen supply and demand. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between coronary flow reserve (CFR) and SEVR in 36 consecutive untreated hypertensives (aged 57.9 years, 12 males, all Caucasian) with indications of myocardial ischaemia and normal coronary arteries in coronary angiography. CFR was calculated by a 0.014-inch Doppler guidewire (Flowire, Volcano, San Diego, CA, USA) in response to bolus intracoronary administration of adenosine (30-60 lg). SEVR was calculated by radial applanation tonometry, while diastolic function was evaluated by means of transmitral flow and tissue Doppler imaging. Hypertensive patients with low CFR (n ¼ 24) compared with those with normal CFR (n ¼ 12) exhibited significantly decreased SEVR by 24.5% (P ¼ 0.002). In hypertensives with low CFR, CFR was correlated with SEVR (r ¼ 0.651, P ¼ 0.001). After applying multivariate linear regression analysis, age, left ventricular mass index, Em/Am, 24-h diastolic blood pressure (BP) and SEVR turned out to be the only independent predictors of CFR (adjusted R 2 ¼ 0.718). Estimation of SEVR by using applanation tonometry may provide a reliable tool for the assessment of coronary microcirculation in essential hypertensives with indications of myocardial ischaemia and normal coronary arteries.

The data regarding the role of serum uric acid (SUA) along with subclinical inflammation in the context of hypertensive vascular damage are rather scarce and controversial. Towards this end, we assess the links between SUA, high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), adiponectin and carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (c-f PWV) in 292 subjects with never-treated stage I-II essential hypertension. On the basis of the median SUA levels (0.31 mmol l À1 ), the study population was divided into subjects with low (n ¼ 149) and high (n ¼ 143) SUA values. By multiple regression analysis, it was revealed that SUA was independently associated with log hs-CRP (R 2 ¼ 0.098; P ¼ 0.02), log adiponectin (R 2 ¼ 0.102; P ¼ 0.03), waist circumference (R 2 ¼ 0.049; P ¼ 0.04), 24-h systolic blood pressure (SBP) (R 2 ¼ 0.179; P ¼ 0.001) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (R 2 ¼ 0.156; b (s.e.) ¼ À0.169 (0.023); P ¼ 0.02). In addition, c-f PWV was independently associated with age (R 2 ¼ 0.116; Po0.0001), waist circumference (R 2 ¼ 0.088; Po0.0001), 24-h SBP (R 2 ¼ 0.167; P ¼ 0.001), log adiponectin (R 2 ¼ 0.07; P ¼ 0.006) and log hs-CRP (R 2 ¼ 0.06; P ¼ 0.034). In conclusion, SUA levels are independently associated with hs-CRP and adiponectin levels but not with c-f PWV in essential hypertensive patients. Increased SUA levels are accompanied by a state of pronounced inflammatory activation and hypoadiponectinemia that significantly impairs the arterial stiffness accelerating the vascular ageing process in this setting.

At present, clinic blood pressure (BP) evaluation is being increasingly complemented by ambulatory BP measurements for the evaluation of haemodynamic patterns during daily activities and sleep. Nondipping pattern, a measure of decreased attenuation of nighttime over daytime BP, has been correlated with enhanced target organ damage and adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in different clinical settings beyond pure hypertensive cohorts. As the nondipping pattern is a derivative extract of both daytime and nighttime BP, it is yet questionable whether the crude estimate of nocturnal BP is superior to daytime BP and nondipping pattern in the prediction of subclinical damage and CV events. In this review, we aimed at comparing the CV predictive value of the nondipping pattern with that of nocturnal BP using cross-sectional and longitudinal data obtained from different cohort studies within the past 10 years. Our findings suggest that nocturnal BP including the phenotype of isolated nocturnal hypertension is better associated with CV target organ damage and 'hard end points' as compared with the nondipping pattern.

The rate of strut malapposition was significantly reduced when OCT was used to confirm that wire recrossing was performed in a distal cell of the SB ostium.