Introduction:
Apparent resistant hypertension (ARH) is a common marker of risk in patients with established cardiovascular disease. We ascertained the prevalence and prognostic significance of ARH in patients without prior cardiovascular disease.
Methods:
This prospective observational cohort study included 9669 community-based participants without a history of heart failure, myocardial infarction, or stroke, who completed the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study visit 4 between 1996-1998. The definition of ARH was blood pressure (BP) above goal (traditional goal <140/90mmHg, more stringent goal <130/80mmHg) despite use of ≥3 antihypertensive drug classes, or any BP with ≥4 antihypertensive drug classes. Participants with controlled hypertension (CH), defined as BP at goal with use of 1-3 antihypertensive drug classes, constituted the reference group. The outcome was a composite endpoint of heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke, or death. Cox regression models were adjusted for age, sex, race, BMI, heart rate, smoking, eGFR, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, glucose, and diabetes.
Results:
Applying the traditional BP goal, 154/9669 participants (1.6%) had ARH, and there were 2311 participants with CH (23.9%). Using the more stringent BP goal, 218/9669 participants (2.3%) had ARH, and 1523 participants (15.8 %) had CH. The median follow-up time was 19 years. Apparent resistant hypertension was associated with an increased risk for the composite endpoint (adjusted hazard ratio 1.58 [95% CI 1.32-1.90] with the traditional BP goal, and adjusted hazard ratio 1.51 [95% CI 1.28-1.79] with the more stringent BP goal).
Conclusions:
Apparent resistant hypertension had a low prevalence but was independently associated with adverse outcome during long term follow-up, compared to controlled hypertension and even compared to uncontrolled hypertension. This was observed for both traditional and more stringent BP goals.
Association of heart failure subtypes and atrial fibrillation: Data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study
