Predictive Value Of Blood Pressure On Cardiovascular Disease And Stroke

ObjectiveStudies of blood pressure (BP) indices as cardiovascular disease and stroke predictors have offered conflicting conclusions. We compare pulse pressure (PP), systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) in predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and strokeMethodA population-based sample of 33,567 rural Chinese adults aged≥35 years without cardiovascular diseases or stroke at baseline were followed up from 2004-2006 to 2008. Multivariate analysis was used to assess the association between BP indices and the CVD and stroke eventsResultDuring the 28-month follow-up period, After adjustment for important covariables, as blood pressure increased the morbidity of CVD and stroke also increased. For example, compared with those with a systolic BP less than120mmHg, patients with a systolic BP of 120-139,140-159,160-179, and at least 180mmHg had relative risks (95% confidence interval) of 1.23(0.88,1.70),2.12(1.48,3.03),3.15 (2.15,4.62), and 5.01(3.42,7.35) for CVD morbidity, and 1.37(0.93,2.00),2.54(1.68,3.84), 3.98(2.57,6.16), and 6.32(4.07,9.80) for stroke.When PP<80 mmHg, as PP increased the morbidity of CVD and stroke also increased.ConclusionThese data indicate that there is a strong,independent, and positive ass-ociation between SBP and DBP and morbidity of CVD and stroke.PP is associated with CVD and stroke,but PP has less statistical strength and predictive utility than SBP or DBP.