Short- and Long-Term Blood Pressure Variability

It has long been known that blood pressure (BP) is characterized by an array of spontaneous variations.1 That is, BP values vary markedly within the 24 hours because of day-night changes but also because of differences among hours, minutes, and even adjacent beats. They also show variations over more prolonged periods because of differences among days, months, and seasons,2 also with a trend for systolic BP to increase over the years and for diastolic BP to display an age-related biphasic change.3This article summarizes current knowledge on short-term (within the 24 hours) and long-term BP variability. Mention will be made of the following: (1) factors responsible for BP variations and mechanisms through which they occur; (2) the relationship of BP variability with BP mean values in absence and during antihypertensive treatment; and (3) the prognostic significance of BP variability. Current limitations of the studies on BP variability will be also discussed to emphasize what future studies should address. Factors and MechanismsA large body of evidence shows that, over the 24 hours, BP undergoes marked variations in response to physical activity, sleep, and emotional stimuli of various nature and duration, thereby documenting the profound involvement of behavioral influences on BP variability. However, spontaneous BP variations also occur independently on behavior. For example, throughout the day and night, BP oscillates regularly at different frequencies, presumably because of influences originating within the brain.4 Furthermore, BP varies more or less regularly in response to the mechanical forces generated by ventilation and also shows irregular nonbehaviorally and nonmechanically related changes with a possible origin from humoral influences and even local vasomotor phenomena. Finally, BP variations are opposed throughout the 24 hours by the baroreflex, which makes the magnitude of 24-hour BP variability in a given individual the net effect of pro-oscillatory and antioscillatory …