A methodologically comprehensive approach to blood pressure 24-hour pattern in essential obesity

Abstract This study deals with the non-invasive ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure (BP) in obese patients. The individual data were analyzed by means of chronobiometric procedures which allow us to estimate the BP values in their within-day discrete variability, circadian rhythmicity and daily pressure load (Daily Baric Impact). The estimates of time-qualified values documented that both male and female obese patients show an elevation of BP values all over the 24-h span. The cosine function revealed that the BP circadian rhythm in obese males and females is preserved but shows a higher level of oscillation. The measure of the area under this oscillation (aesor) provided evidence that the Daily Baric Impact is higher in obese patients as compared to non-obese subjects. The spectral analysis, in turn, revealed that the BP 24-h variability in obese patients is sustained by oscillatory components which are not detectable in the physiologic spectrum of resolution in harmonics, suggesting an abnormal tone in regulatory mechanisms. The relation of the Daily Baric Impact to the body surface (Baric Index) demonstrated that the increase in BP values in obesity is a phenomenon which is secondary to the overweight.