The Relationship between Non-Dipper Blood Pressure and Thoracic Aortic Diameter in Metabolic Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Non-dipper hypertension is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of non-dipping hypertension with aortic diameter in patients with metabolic syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 70 hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome. These patients were evaluated with 24-h blood pressure Holter monitoring and divided into two groups of 35 patients each. Aortic diameter was measured by M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography. These parameters were compared between the two groups. RESULTS In the dipper group, there were 26 female and 9 male patients with a mean age of 55±11 years. In the non-dipper group, there were 25 female and 10 male patients with a mean age of 56±11 years. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of basic characteristics. Non-dipper hypertensive patients had a higher thoracic aortic diameter value than dipper patients (35.6±2.4 and 33.23±1.1, p<0.01). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that thoracic aortic diameter value is higher in patients with non-dipper hypertension.