Pulse Pressure as a Marker of Prognosis in Acute Coronary Syndrome

Pulse pressure (PP) is the difference between the systolic (SBP) and the diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, which are dependent on the compliance of the aorta and large arteries and of the cardiac output1,2. Still, no circulation model explains this value separately2. Being easily evaluated at the hospital admission, PP has been found as predictor of the prognosis of cardiovascular events, more important than SBP and DBP separately. Likewise, there is evidence of this value being predictor of the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD)1,3-5. Both SBP and DBP increase in parallel to the age up to around 60 years, when SBP starts increasing and DBP, decreasing. This phenomenon results in a significant increase of PP after the 60 years. In elderly individuals, PP may be the key value for evaluating blood pressure, being important as risk factor for cardiovascular disease1,3,6.