Diurnal variation of blood pressure; reproducibility and association with left ventricular hypertrophy in hemodialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this paper is to describe the pattern of diurnal blood pressure (BP) change in hemodialysis patients, determine the association of the non-dipping pattern of diurnal BP with left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and to determine if the nocturnal profile of BP is reproducible when repeated over time.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was performed over a midweek 44-h period and echocardiography was performed on the interdialytic day. Patients with a night/day systolic and diastolic BP ratio on both days >0.9 were defined as non-dippers. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was repeated at 6 and 12 months follow-up.

RESULTS

Of the 59 patients, 88% were African-American, and 48% were non-dippers. Mean LVMI was significantly higher in the non-dipper (68.3+/-25 g/height) compared to the dipper patients (55.6+/-16, P<0.05). Mean nocturnal systolic BP (r=0.35) and the night/day systolic BP ratio (r=0.39) had a higher correlation with M-mode LVMI than pre-dialysis (r=0.32). After adjustment for 44-h mean SBP, night/day systolic BP ratio remained independently associated with LVMI (beta coefficient 147.62, P=0.004). Of 12 patients who had a non-dipper profile at baseline, 11 (92%) demonstrated the same profile after 6 months and 1 year of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Many hemodialysis patients demonstrate a non-dipper profile; the degree of decline in nocturnal BP is independently associated with LVMI even after adjustment for mean BP. Patients who are identified as non-dippers consistently reproduce the same profile over time.