Cardiovascular Characteristics in American Youth With Prehypertension

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular structure and function in youth with prehypertension have been incompletely investigated. Methods: Casual and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) measurement, arterial stiffness, noninvasive hemodynamic profiles, and cardiac structure were studied in a twin cohort of American black and white youth (n = 942; mean age, 17.6 ± 3.3 years SD). A family history of essential hypertension was used as a proxy to study genetic susceptibility to prehypertension. Results: The occurrence of prehypertension was approximately 12% in the entire sample. Body mass index and waist circumference were significantly greater in prehypertensive subjects than in normotensive subjects. The 24-h ambulatory systolic BP (SBP), 24-h ambulatory diastolic BP (DBP), nighttime ambulatory SBP, and nighttime ambulatory DBP were significantly elevated in prehypertensive subjects compared with normotensive subjects. In whites, prehypertensive subjects compared with normotensive subjects showed increased radial (6.8 ± 0.1 v 6.2 ± 0.1 m/sec, P