European Society of Hypertension Scientific Newsletter: Update on Hypertension Management

Carotid distensibility Arterial stiffness and wave reflection are now well-accepted as the most important determinants of increasing systolic and pulse pressures in ageing societies, thus promoting a major contribution to stroke and myocardial infarction. A major reason for measuring arterial stiffness and central pulse pressure (PP) in hypertensive patients comes from the demonstration that arterial stiffness and central PP have a predictive value for cardiovascular events. A recent expert-consensus document has reviewed the methodological agreements for measuring arterial stiffness and wave reflections [1]. This newsletter will not address the issue of intima-media thickness (Newsletter n°15) and endothelial dysfunction.