ABC | Volume 114, Nº1, January 2019

Original Article Adar et al. Aortic calcification and non-dipper blood pressure Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; 114(1):109-117 Table 1 – Baseline characteristics of the study groups Non-Dipper (n = 261) Dipper (n = 145) p-value Age (year) 54 (13) 47 (14) < 0.001 Weight (kg) 80 (13) 79 (13) 0.336 Height (cm) 165 (8) 166 (9) 0.084 Body surface area (m 2 ) 1.90 ± 0.18 1.90 ± 0.18 0.864 Body mass index (kg/m 2 ) 29 (5) 28 (4) 0.067 Female gender (n, %) 160 (61.3) 76 (52.4) 0.061 Obesity (n, %) 106 (40.6) 51 (35.2) 0.281 Hypertension (n, %) 135 (51.7) 60 (41.4) 0.049 Diabetes (n, %) 59 (22.6) 25 (17.2) 0.201 Hyperlipidemia (n, %) 42 (16.1) 26 (17.9) 0.634 Smoking (n, %) 45 (17.2) 34 (23.4) 0.130 ACE inhibitors (n, %) 71 (27.2) 33 (22.8) 0.326 Angiotensin receptor blockers (n, %) 27 (10.3) 16 (11) 0.829 Calcium channel blockers (n, %) 30 (11.5) 18 (12.4) 0.783 Beta blockers (n, %) 24 (9.2) 16 (11.0) 0.551 Diuretics (n, %) 29 (11.1) 21 (14.5) 0.322 Creatinine (mg/dL) 0.80 (0.20) 0.8 (0.3) 0.910 Glomerular filtration rate (mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) 98 ± 13 103 ± 26 < 0.0001 Total cholesterol (mg/dL) 190 ± 39.5 195 ± 39.3 0.200 Triglyceride (mg/dL) 190 (40) 172 (83) 0.013 Low-density lipoprotein (mg/dL) 112 ± 32 114 (33) 0.816 High-density lipoprotein (mg/dL) 47 (11) 46 (12) 0.528 Glucose (mg/dL) 107 (31) 103 (30) 0.088 Left atrial diameter (mm) 35 (4) 34 (4) 0.070 Left ventricular ejection fraction (%) 65 ± 6 64 (5) 0.437 Left ventricular mass index (gr/m 2 ) 93 (20) 87 (18) 0.007 Left ventricular hypertrophy (n, %) 61 (23.4) 19 (13.1) 0.013 Left ventricular geometry (n, %) Normal 49 (18.8%) 30 (20.7%) 0.640 Concentric remodeling 151 (57.9%) 96 (66.2%) 0.099 Eccentric hypertrophy 19 (7.3%) 5 (3.4%) 0.117 Concentric hypertrophy 42 (16.1%) 14 (9.7%) 0.072 Continuous variables are presented as median (interquartile range) or mean (standard deviation); categorical variables are presented as number (percentage). ACE: angiotensin converting enzyme. Both AAC and NDBP are associated with several HT-related target organ damage and future cardiovascular events in patients with HT. 1,5,6,38-40 In this study, we showed that there is also a strong association between AAC and NDBP. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to evaluate the potential association of AAC with other hypertensive subforms. Study limitations This study has several limitations. The small sample size is the main limitation. Our definition of NDBP pattern was based on systolic BP variations. Although this is the most commonly used definition of NDBP, diastolic BP values may also be used to assess NDBP. We did not study autonomic nervous system activity or vascular stiffness parameters to explain the potential mechanistic link between AAC and NDBP. Finally, we did not study the association of AAC with cardiovascular events. Conclusion Presence of AAC on plain chest radiography is strongly and independently associated with the presence of NDBP pattern. Routine use of this simple and inexpensive tool in clinical practice may have additional benefits in the detection and control of the 112