A New Era of Hypertension Assessment: Non-Invasive Central and Intracranial Waveform Analysis

The relationship between arterial hypertension and cerebral blood flow (CBF) has been extensively studied due to the role that blood pressure plays in maintaining adequate cerebral perfusion. Cerebral autoregulation is the mechanism by which cerebral blood flow remains relatively constant despite variations in perfusion pressure. In normotensive individuals, the autoregulation range is approximately between mean arterial pressures of 60 to 150 mmHg.^,

In hypertensive patients, there is evidence that this curve shifts to higher values, causing: a) The hypertensive brain to tolerate higher blood pressures before vasodilation or vasoconstriction occurs; b) On the other hand, abrupt drops in blood pressure can result in cerebral hypoperfusion, since the lower threshold for autoregulation may be higher.

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