Systolic blood pressure of the postextrasystolic beat characterizes cardiovascular dysfunctions

Postextrasystolic potentiation mainly effects short term regulation of blood pressure and heart rate. The objective of our study was to verify how changes in systolic blood pressure (ΔSBP) from the preextrasystolic to the postextrasystolic beat characterize the pathological behavior in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). This measure was compared with mean blood pressure turbulence slope (BPTS) and heart rate turbulence onset (HRTO). Therefore, we analyzed the non-invasively recorded finger arterial blood pressure during single premature ventricular complexes (PVC) in IDC (n=10) and healthy subjects (CON; n=7). Although all parameters revealed significant differences (Mann-Whitney test) between IDC and CON (ΔSBP: 10.7±9.7 vs -5.1±1.9 %, p<0.001; BPTS: 0.97±0.59 vs 2.07±1.04 mmHg/BBI, p=0.015; HRTO: 0.68±2.35 vs -4.32±2.97%; p=0.015) the changes in systolic blood pressure dominate. As a result of our study a parameter for quantifying postextrasystolic potentiation is, provided that enables the application of a rather simple algorithm for an enhanced risk stratification in heart failure.