ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Cardiology and Angiology 2021 October;69(5):480-4

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5683.20.05288-3

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The prevalence of masked hypertension in a group of young healthy soldiers

Ahmed M. ABUOSA ¹, Abdulhalim J. KINSARA ¹ ✉, Ayman H. ELSHIEKH ¹, Mohammed B. ABRAR ^{2, 3}

¹ Department of Cardiology, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, COM-WR, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; ² Princess Norah Oncology Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; ³ King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: To assess the prevalence of masked hypertension (MH) in young Saudi National Guard soldiers based on 24h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).
METHODS: A prospective study of 196 soldiers, aged between 21-50 years, without a history of hypertension or antihypertensive medication use. Each participant was fitted with a 24h-ABPM. Patients were considered to have MH if the office blood pressure (OBP) was <140/90 mm Hg and the 24h-ABPM average was ≥130/80 mmHg.
RESULTS: The mean age of the MH group was 34.5 years compared to 32.4 years of the normotensive group. By pairing the average OBP with the 24h-ABPM, the prevalence of MH was estimated to be 29/196 (14.8%), with the SBP (systolic blood pressure) and DPB MH (diastolic BP) prevalence 12.8% and 7.7%, respectively. For the systolic BP, the OBP compared with the 24h-ABPM was 120.0±8.1 vs. 134.7±4.5 (P<0.001) and for the diastolic BP, 70.7±7.0 vs. 79.9±4.2 (P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MH among this sample of healthy military soldiers was 14.8%. It is important not to rely solely on the OBP and to consider MH when screening for hypertension in apparently healthy individuals.

KEY WORDS: Masked hypertension; Blood pressure monitoring, ambulatory; Military personnel