Revista portuguesa de cardiologia : orgão oficial da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia = Portuguese journal of cardiology : an official journal of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology
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Review
Cost-effectiveness of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in the management of hypertension.
The prevalence of hypertension in Portugal is between 29.1% and 42.2%. International studies show that 13% of individuals have masked hypertension and 13% of diagnoses based on office blood pressure measurements are in fact white coat hypertension. More sensitive and specific blood pressure measuring methods could avoid costs associated with misdiagnosis. The aim of this study was to review the cost-effectiveness of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) compared to other methods in the management of hypertension. ⋯ The evidence shows that ABPM is cost-effective, avoiding iatrogenic effects and reducing expenditure on treatment (grade of recommendation B). The included studies provide a solid basis, but further evidence of reproducibility is needed in research that is not based mainly on analytical models.
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Observational Study
Prognostic stratification in pulmonary hypertension: A multi-biomarker approach.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) covers a group of conditions characterized by an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance leading to right ventricular failure. Risk stratification is crucial for adequate prognostic and therapeutic assessment. However, the accuracy of conventional parameters is limited, especially biomarkers. ⋯ A multi-biomarker approach was superior for risk stratification to any single marker. A score that incorporates NT-proBNP, MR-proANP, renin and sST2 accurately identifies patients at low, intermediate and high risk.