Central aortic blood pressure (CAP or CASP) is the blood pressure at the root of aorta. Studies have shown the importance of central aortic pressure and its implications in assessing the efficacy of antihypertensive treatment with respect to cardiovascular risk factors. The traditional method of measuring blood pressure in the arms has been shown to underestimate the efficacy of drugs such as amlodipine and overestimate the efficacy of those like atenolol. A clinical trial demonstrated that different medications for lowering blood pressure have different effects on the central aortic pressure and blood flow characteristics, despite producing similar branchial blood pressure readings. The study also indicated that the CAP is a better independent predictor of cardiovascular and renal outcome.
Famous quotes containing the word pressure:
“Today’s pressures on middle-class children to grow up fast begin in early childhood. Chief among them is the pressure for early intellectual attainment, deriving from a changed perception of precocity. Several decades ago precocity was looked upon with great suspicion. The child prodigy, it was thought, turned out to be a neurotic adult; thus the phrase “early ripe, early rot!””
—David Elkind (20th century)