Blood pressure measuring devices: recommendations of the European Society of Hypertension
Eoin O'Brien, Bernard Waeber, Gianfranco Parati, Jan Staessen, Martin G Myers
BMJ 2001;322;531-536
doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7285.531

There is a large market for blood pressure measuring devices not only in clinical medicine but also among the public where the demand for self measurement of blood pressure is growing rapidly. For consumers, whether medical or lay, accuracy should be of prime importance when selecting a device to measure blood pressure. However, most devices have not been evaluated for accuracy independently using the two most widely used protocols: the British Hypertension Society (BHS) protocol and the standard set by the US Association for the Advancement of Medical Instru­ mentation (AAMI).1 2 The Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring of the European Society of Hypertension has decided to review blood pressure measuring devices regularly to guide purchasers.3 For this first report devices for which there is published evidence of independent validation using these proto­ cols have been surveyed. Because most blood pressure devices have not been independently validated, only a fraction of the many devices available have been surveyed. Devices that have been validated recently for which results have not yet been published were not included, but this shortcoming should be addressed in future.

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Association of Pulse Pressure With Cardiovascular Outcome Is Independent of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Systolic Dysfunction: The Strong Heart Study
Vittorio Palmieri, Richard B. Devereux, Jacqueline Hollywood, Jonathan N. Bella, Jennifer E. Liu, Elisa T. Lee, Lyle G. Best, Barbara V. Howard, and Mary J. Roman

Background: Whether increased pulse pressure (PP) predicts cardiovascular (CV) events independent of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and systolic dysfunction is unclear.

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Assessment of blood pressure control in hypertensive stroke survivors: an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring study
Nikolaos Zakopoulos, Konstantinos Spengos, Georgios Tsivgoulis, Vassilios Zis, Efstathios Maniosa and Konstantinos Vemmos

Background We compared the sensitivity of office blood pressure and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings in evaluating the effectiveness of antihypertensive treatment and identified factors related to inadequate blood pressure control among hypertensive stroke survivors.

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Arterial Stiffness and Hypertension
Donna K. Arnett, PhD
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, USA

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN HYPERTENSION
Historically, arteries were considered to be passive conduits of blood; today, they are viewed as complex, active participants in cardiovascular function, including abnormalities in blood pressure. Stiffening of large arteries may be both a cause and a consequence of hypertension. There are several studies, including studies done by the University of Minnesota, that confirm that as arterial pressure rises, acute and reversible stiffening of the large arteries occurs without a change in the structure of the artery. Arterial stiffness increases transiently as blood pressure rises. Arterial stiffening also increases because of the structure of the artery changes. Persistently elevated blood pressure accelerates atherosclerosis, arterial smooth muscle hyperplasia and hypertrophy, and collagen synthesis, thereby increasing arterial stiffness.