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Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Request Appointment. Pulse pressure: An indicator of heart health?
Products and services. What is pulse pressure? How important is pulse pressure to your overall health? Answer From Sheldon G. With Sheldon G. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Townsend RR. A high resting pulse pressure is harmful and tends to accelerate the normal ageing of body organs, particularly the heart, the brain and kidneys.
A high pulse pressure combined with bradycardia is associated with increased intracranial pressure and should be reported to a physician immediately. Recent work suggests that a high pulse pressure is an important risk factor for heart disease.
Wide pulse pressure can result from a variety of causes, with anemia being the most common. Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated. Wide pulse pressure in itself is not a life threatening condition.
The most common cause of wide pulse pressure is anemia , other causes include:. Narrowed Pulse Pressure can be result from a variety of causes, with congestive heart failure being the most common. Narrowed Pulse Pressure in itself is not a life threatening condition. Template:WikiDoc Sources. Calculation Formally it is the systolic pressure minus the diastolic pressure.
Values and variation Usually, the resting pulse pressure in healthy adults, sitting position, is about 40 mmHg. Low values If the usual resting pulse pressure is measured as less than 40 mmHg, the most common reason is an error of measurement. High values If the usual resting pulse pressure is consistently greater than 40 mmHg, e.
A low pulse pressure can indicate decreased cardiac output. This can be due to high blood pressure or atherosclerosis , fatty deposits that build up on your arteries. Additionally, iron deficiency anemia and hyperthyroidism can lead to an increase in pulse pressure. A high pulse pressure is often associated with increased risk of heart attack or stroke , particularly in men. One study found that a low pulse pressure was independently predictive of cardiovascular death in people with mild to advanced heart failure.
The same study also found that a low pulse pressure was associated with worsened clinical findings. A second study of people with chronic heart failure found that a low pulse pressure was associated with an increase in mortality. Low pulse pressure also correlated with a significant increase in brain natriuretic peptide BNP , a protein associated with heart failure when observed in high levels. An analysis of three trials of older individuals with high blood pressure hypertension found that a high pulse pressure was predictive of cardiovascular complications and mortality.
An increase of pulse pressure by 10 mm Hg was found to increase the risk of a cardiovascular event, stroke, or overall mortality by 10—20 percent. Another study found that an increased pulse pressure was associated with increased mortality among those with severe kidney disease.
However, a retrospective study of people admitted to a hospital for sepsis found that pulse pressure greater than 70 mm Hg was actually associated with a decrease in mortality. High blood pressure readings are still predictive of adverse cardiovascular events as well. For example, consider two people with a pulse pressure measurement of 60 mm Hg. Despite having the same pulse pressure measurement, the second person is more at risk for an adverse event.
Treatment of high blood pressure, if present, can often lead to a reduction in pulse pressure. Nitrates have been shown to reduce both systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure while retaining diastolic blood pressure levels. Muscular arteries have a thin intimal layer with a well-developed internal elastic lamina.
They also have a muscular wall that can be up to forty layers thick. The primary function of these arteries is to regulate blood flow through adjustment of blood vessel caliber. The other main type of artery is the elastic artery.
Elastic arteries are unique as they have elastic fibers interspersed in between the smooth muscle cells of the tunica intima, which allows elastic arteries to store kinetic energy to smooth out the surge in blood pressure that occurs during systole, known as the Windkessel effect.
An increase in pulse pressure can occur in a well-conditioned endurance runner. As he or she continues to exercise, the systolic pressure will progressively increase due to an increase in stroke volume and cardiac output. Diastolic pressure, on the contrary, will continually decrease due to a decrease in the total peripheral resistance. This effect is due to the accumulation of red slow-twitch muscle tissue in the arterioles instead of white fast-twitch tissue.
As a result, the pulse pressure is going to increase; this can also occur in individuals with larger amounts of muscle mass. Aging impacts pulse pressure and arterial compliance. With aging, there is a decrease in the compliance of the large elastic arteries.
This change is due to structural molecular changes in the arterial wall, including decreased elastin content, increased collagen I deposition, and calcification, which increases the stiffness of the wall. This process is often described as "hardening of the arteries. In response, the left ventricular tend to hypertrophy. When excessive pulse pressure transmits through the microcirculation of vital organs such as the brain and kidneys, extensive tissue damage tends to occur.
A widened or larger pulse pressure occurs with several diseases, including aortic regurgitation, aortic sclerosis both heart valve conditions , severe iron deficiency anemia reduced blood viscosity , arteriosclerosis less compliant arteries , and hyperthyroidism increased systolic pressure.
In the majority of these cases, systolic pressures increase while diastolic pressures remain near normal.
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