Influence of baseline arterial stiffness on effects of intensive compared with standard blood pressure control: a post hoc analysis of the STEP trial

Abstract

Abstract Background The benefits and risks of intensive versus standard systolic blood pressure (SBP) treatment in older patients with arterial stiffness (AS) remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the interaction between the baseline AS and SBP treatments on cardiovascular outcomes. Methods In this post hoc analysis of the Strategy of Blood Pressure Intervention in the Elderly Hypertensive Patients (STEP) trial, we involved 6865 participants with complete data regarding baseline brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Patients were categorized by baseline AS status (AS, baPWV ≥ 1800 cm/s; non-AS, baPWV 0.05 for all). Conclusions In the STEP trial, the beneficial effects of intensive SBP treatment were similar among those in the AS group and the non-AS group at baseline. Trial registration STEP ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03015311. Registered 2 January 2017.

Keywords

• Vascular stiffness
• Hypertension
• Intensive BP lowering