IJCS | Volume 33, Nº2, March / April 2020

147 Figure 1 - Flowchart of patients' selection. Review of 1,500 medical records 240 medical records of patients with borderline hypertension or stage 1 hypertension 1,260 medical records of hypertensive (other stages) patients Telephone contact 209 patients that were not contactable or declined to participate in the study 31 participants agreed to participate in the study Final sample (n = 27) 02 ischemic stroke 02 technical difficulties in obtaining central blood pressure measurements supine position. Data were obtained by transfer function for central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) central diastolic blood pressure (cDBP), central pulse pressure (cPP), pulse pressure (PP) amplification and augmentation index (AIx). For measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV), the transducer was placed on femoral and carotid arteries, and the velocity at which pressure moved down this distance was determined in centimeters and multiplied by a correction factor of 0.8. 2,17 The second method was a validated oscillometric method using the Mobil O’Graph® BP monitor. In this method, central BP is estimated by a mathematical algorithm derived from PWV of the brachial artery. This method also allowed the estimation of cSBP, CDBP, cPP, PP amplification, AIx and PWV. Central BP measurements weremadewith patients in siting position; data were analyzed with the Mobil O’Graph monitor analysis software. 14 Statistical analysis Statistical analysis of the data was made using the Stata software, version 14.0. First, a descriptive analysis was performed; qualitative variables were expressed as absolute and relative frequencies, and quantitative variables as mean, standard deviation and confidence interval. The Shapiro-Wil test was used to test normality of data distribution. Comparisons of peripheral and central measures obtained by the two different methods were made by unpaired t-test. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Twenty-seven patients aged 50.8 ± 15 years participated in the study, most of them (63%) were women. Most patients (59.3%) were physically inactive, with mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.3 ± 4.8 Kg/m² (95%CI 25.4 - 29.3) (Table 1). Regarding pBP measurements, four patients were classified as borderline hypertensive and 23 as hypertensive; 81.5% of them used at least one anti- hypertensive agent. Central SBP (128 mmHg) was significantly lower than pSBP, both by tonometric (117.7 mgHg) and oscillometric (112 mmhg) methods (p < 0.006 and p < 0.001 respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed for the diastolic component of BP (Table 2). Barroso et al. Assessment methods for central blood pressure Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2020; 33(2):145-150 Original Article