Blood pressure variability and risk of heart failure in ACCORD and the VADT

Objective: Although blood pressure variability is increasingly appreciated as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, its relationship with heart failure is less clear. We examined the relationship between blood pressure variability and risk of heart failure (HF) in two cohorts of type 2 diabetes participating in trials of glucose and/or other risk factor management.

Research Design and Methods: Data were drawn from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial and the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT). Coefficient of variation (CV) and average real variability (ARV) were calculated for systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) along with maximum and cumulative mean SBP and DBP during both trials.

Results: In ACCORD, CV and ARV of SBP and DBP were associated with increased risk of HF, even after adjusting for other risk factors and mean blood pressure (e.g., CV-SBP: HR=1.15, p = 0.01; CV-DBP: HR=1.18, p = 0.003). In the VADT, DBP variability was associated with increased risk of HF (ARV-DBP: HR=1.16, p = 0.001; CV-DBP: HR=1.09, p = 0.04). Further, in ACCORD, those with progressively lower baseline blood pressure demonstrated a stepwise increase in risk of HF with higher CV-SBP, ARV-SBP, and CV-DBP. Effects of blood pressure variability were related to dips, not elevations, in blood pressure.

Conclusions: Blood pressure variability is associated with HF risk in individuals with type 2 diabetes, possibly a consequence of periods of ischemia during diastole. These results may have implications for optimizing blood pressure treatment strategies in those with type 2 diabetes.