Neutrophil count and ambulatory pulse pressure as predictors of cardiovascular adverse events in postmenopausal women with hypertension.

BACKGROUND

Elevated neutrophil count, a marker of systemic inflammation, has been suggested as a prognostic marker of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women with hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that an association exists between elevated neutrophil count and increased arterial stiffness, as reflected by a wide pulse pressure (PP), in this population of women. We also tested PP as predictor of cardiovascular adverse events in this population.

METHODS

We analyzed data relating to 886 postmenopausal women with hypertension, consecutively enrolled in a prospective registry. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was carried out at entry in all the subjects. The median duration of follow-up was 7.4 years (range: 1-21 years).

RESULTS

There was a direct relationship between neutrophil count and 24-h ambulatory PP (P < 0.0001) and this association remained significant after adjusting for age, serum glucose, and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy at electrocardiogram (ECG) (all P < 0.01). During follow-up there were 121 first-time major cardiovascular (CV) events. The rate (× 100 patient-years) of CV events was 1.02, 1.36, and 3.75, respectively in the three tertiles of the distribution of 24-h PP (P < 0.0001). In a multivariate analysis, 24-h ambulatory PP and neutrophil count were independent predictors of total CV events after adjusting for the influence of other risk markers. In particular, for each 10 mm Hg increase in 24-h PP, there was a 73% higher risk for total CV events (P = 0.015). Office-recorded PP did not achieve significance when forced in the same model.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased arterial stiffness, as reflected in high values of 24-h ambulatory PP, is an adverse prognostic marker in postmenopausal women with hypertension, possibly as an additional correlate of systemic inflammation.