Carotid Atherosclerosis Predicts Blood Pressure Control in Patients With Hypertension: The Campania Salute Network Registry

Background The 2018 European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension arterial hypertension guidelines do not recommend routine carotid ultrasound as a tool to identify hypertension-mediated organ damage, unless clinically indicated. However, carotid plaque (CP) is a strong correlate of increased arterial stiffness, which influences blood pressure (BP) control over time. Thus, we assessed whether evidence of CP at first visit could predict BP control during follow-up. Methods and Results From the CSN (Campania Salute Network) Registry, 6684 patients with hypertension had complete carotid ultrasound examination and were categorized by the presence of CP at baseline. Optimal BP control was defined as average BP