Effects of Nifedipine on Blood Pressure, Arterial Compliance and Left Ventricular Mass in Elderly Patients with Isolated Systolic Hypertension

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute and chronic administration of slow-release nifedipine (SRN) on blood pressure (BP), aortic index (AI), average wall stress (AWS), left ventricular mass (LVM), and other hemodynamic parameters in elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) (systolic blood pressure [SBP] > 175 mmHg). We studied 10 patients (mean age 73.7 ± 5.6 years) in which after a washout period, in basal conditions, 3 h after the administration of SRN (20 mg), and 180 days after chronic therapy (40 mg daily), we evaluated the changes of BP, HR, AI, AWS, LVM, and other parameters obtained by means of echocardiography. After SRN we observed a signific…