Maximum home blood pressure readings are associated with left atrial diameter in essential hypertensives.

We tested the hypothesis that the maximum value of home systolic BP (MSBP) is a marker of hypertensive target organ damage (TOD). We conducted a cross-sectional study of 220 hypertensives. The subjects performed HBP monitoring using a telemonitoring system and measured their HBP for 7 days. Mean, maximum, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation of SBPs were used as independent variables. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), mean carotid intima-media thickness, and left atrial diameter index (LADI) were used as dependent variables. Mean and maximum SBPs were significantly associated with each TOD marker. MSBP showed a significantly stronger association with LADI compared to mean SBP (p = 0.0012) and a significant relationship with LADI independent of LVMI (p = 0.024). Our findings suggest that MSBP is associated with TOD measures, similar to mean SBP. These results may indicate that MSBP could be a target of intervention for patients with atrial fibrillation.