Association between morning blood pressure surge and target organ damage in elderly patients with essential hypertension

Objective To investigate the association between the morning blood pressure surge(MBPS) and the target organ damage in eldealy patients with essential hypertension. Methods One hundred and eighty-six patients were divided into MBPS group(n=104) and non-MBPS group(n=82) according to 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.Left ventricular mass index(LVMI),carotid intima-media thickness(IMT) were determined,and the frequency of carotid atherosclerosis and plaque were compared between two groups. Results 24 h,day and night mean systolic blood pressure,pulse pressure in MBPS group were significantly higher than those in non-MBPS group(P0.05).In MBPS group,LVMI,carotid IMT,carotid atherosclerosis and plaque were higher than those in non-MBPS group(P0.01). Conclusions Elderly patients with essential hypertension with MBPS have evident target organ damage.