IJCS | Volume 33, Nº2, March / April 2020

148 Table 1 - Lifestyle characteristics of the study group (n = 27) Variable n % Physical exercise (frequency) Regular 11 40.7 Irregular 01 3.7 None 15 55.6 Alcohol consumption (frequency) Never 17 63.0 Rarely 03 11.1 < 4x/week 05 18.5 > 4x/week 02 7.4 Smoking load (pack-years) None 25 92.6 < 5 01 3.7 > 20 01 3.7 Table 2 - Comparison of peripheral blood pressure measurements obtained by OMRON 705CP with the same measurements obtained by SphygmoCor® and Mobil O’Graph® (n = 27) Variable Mean SD 95%CI p pSBP 128.4 13.4 123.0-133.7 cSBP (SphygmoCor®) 117.7 14.0 112.1-123.2 0.006* cSBP (Mobil O’Graph®) 112,0 10,1 108.0-116.0 0.001* pDBP 76.1 10.5 71.9-80.2 cDBP (Shpygmocor®) 80.1 10.6 75.9-84.3 0,172* cDBP (Mobil O’Graph®) 81,4 10,5 77.2-85.5 0.070* SD: standard deviation; CI: confidence interval; pSBP: peripheral systolic blood pressure; cSBP: central systolic blood pressure; pDBP: peripheral diastolic blood pressure; cDBP: central diastolic blood pressure. * Compared with OMRON 705CP. Table 3 - Comparison of central blood pressure measurements obtained by SphygmoCor® with the same measurements obtained by Mobil O’Graph® (n = 27) Variable Mean SD 95%CI p cSBP (SphygmoCor®) 117.7 14.0 112.1-123.2 0.09 cSBP (Mobil O’Graph®) 112.0 10.1 108.0-116.0 cDBP (SphygmoCor®) 80.1 10.6 75.9-84.3 0.654 cDBP (Mobil O’Graph®) 81.4 10.5 77.2-85.5 cPP (Shpygmocor®) 37.7 12.6 32.7-42.7 0.013 cPP (Mobil O’Graph®) 30.9 5.4 28.7-33.0 PPA (Shpygmocor®) 10.7 5.7 8.4-12.9 0.619 PPA (Mobil O’Graph®) 10.0 3.8 8.5-11.5 AIx (Shpygmocor®) 26.1 18.3 18.9-33.4 0.244 AIx (Mobil O’Graph®) 21.3 11.2 16.9-25.7 PWV (Shpygmocor®) 8.4 1.6 7.8-9.1 0.013 PWV (Mobil O’Graph®) 7.4 1.4 6.8-7.9 SD: standard deviation; CI: confidence interval; cSBP: central systolic blood pressure; cDBP: central diastolic blood pressure; cPP: central pulse pressure; PPA: pulse pressure amplification; AIx: augmentation index; PWV: pulse wave velocity Comparisons between Shpygmocor® and Mobil O’Graph®, the methods used for determination of cBP parameters, revealed no statistical difference for PASc, AIx and PP amplification, but statistical difference was observed for PWV and cPP (Table 3). Discussion Arterial stiffness and cBP are better predictors of cardiovascular events compared with peripheral parameters of BP, especially in the initial stages of hypertensive disease and in hypertensive patients at low and moderate risk, 5,9,18,19,20 and considered as important tools in restratification of these patients. 1,2 The values of peripheral BP (128.4 s 76.1mmHg) found in our sample are consistent with those of patients in the initial stages of hypertensive disease. Analysis of BP in large arteries (rather than peripheral values) showed that, corroborating previous studies, an amplification of systolic pressure occurs, from central to peripheral arteries, and diastolic pressure tended to remain unchanged. 21 Central SBP determined by tonometry was 10.7 mmHg lower than pSBP (p = 0.006), whereas by oscillometry, this difference was Barroso et al. Assessment methods for central blood pressure Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2020; 33(2):145-150 Original Article