Central Aortic Pressure
For more than a century, hypertension diagnosis and treatment were based on brachial blood pressure but not central aortic pressure. Blood pressure is conventionally measured in the upper arm and is usually higher than Central Aortic Pressure (CAP) due to the increased pressure associated with smaller arteries in the arm. CAP captures the blood pressure at the root of the aorta and has been shown to be the strongest predictor for strokes and heart attacks. As shown in the CAFÉ study, certain class of drugs used in the treatment of high blood pressure can have an adverse effect on CAP.
CAP
BPro CAP Software
Fluctuations and variability in CAP is greatest when a patient is ambulant and is likely to be even greater in those with stiffer conduit arteries and higher pressures. Most non-invasive methods to measure CAP only record static seated pressure and does not provide information about the ambulatory profile of central pressure.
Waveform data acquired by BPro is used to generate CAP measurements using an n-point moving average method. This method has been validated against the invasive method (gold standard), providing an accurate assessment of CAP. It provides a practical approach for routine clinical measurement of CAP since it is simple to use, accurate and non-invasive.