Visit-to-Visit Variability of Blood Pressure and Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, Heart Failure, and Mortality: A Cohort Study

Background: Variability of blood pressure (BP) across outpatient visits is frequently dismissed as random fluctuation around a patient's underlying BP.

Objective: To examine the association of visit-to-visit variability (VVV) of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality outcomes.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Post hoc analysis of ALLHAT (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial).

Participants: 25 814 ALLHAT participants.

Measurements: The VVV of SBP was defined as the SD across SBP measurements obtained at 7 visits conducted from 6 to 28 months after ALLHAT enrollment. Participants without CVD events during the first 28 months of follow-up were followed from the 28-month visit through the end of active ALLHAT follow-up. Outcomes included fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) or nonfatal myocardial infarction, all-cause mortality, stroke, and heart failure.

Results: During follow-up, 1194 fatal CHD or nonfatal MI events, 1948 deaths, 606 strokes, and 921 heart failure events occurred. After multivariable adjustment, including for mean SBP, the hazard ratio comparing participants in the highest versus lowest quintile of SD of SBP (≥14.4 mm Hg vs. <6.5 mm Hg) was 1.30 (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.59) for fatal CHD or nonfatal MI, 1.58 (CI, 1.32 to 1.90) for all-cause mortality, 1.46 (CI, 1.06 to 2.01) for stroke, and 1.25 (CI, 0.97 to 1.61) for heart failure. Higher VVV of diastolic BP was also associated with CVD events and mortality.

Limitation: Long-term outcomes were not available.

Conclusion: Higher VVV of SBP is associated with an increased risk for CVD and mortality. Future studies should examine whether reducing VVV of BP lowers this risk.

Primary Funding Source: National Institutes of Health.