Business & Finance
Business and FinanceBusiness and Finance 
Tue, November 3, 2009
Mon, November 2, 2009
ITASCA, IL--(Marketwire - November 2, 2009) - AtCor Medical (
The study "High Central Pulse Pressure Is Independently Associated with Adverse Cardiovascular Outcome" followed 2,405 participants over a period averaging 5.6 years. It was found that when central pulse pressure exceeded 50 mm Hg, the risk of a cardiovascular event sharply increased. No similar predictive relationship was found with standard cuff blood pressure measurements taken at the arm. Patients in the highest quartile of central pulse pressure (50mm Hg or > ) were 70% more likely to experience cardiovascular events than those in the lowest quartile ( < 31mm Hg).
The study concludes that central pulse pressure greater than 50 mm Hg predicts adverse cardiovascular outcome and that central pulse pressure may serve as a target for intervention strategies in patient care.
"It is not surprising that central blood pressure correlates better with target organ damage and cardiovascular outcomes than brachial blood pressure does, because it more accurately reflects vascular load on the left ventricle and cerebral and coronary vasculature," the study authors stated.
"The publication of this study is a major event for AtCor Medical," said Duncan Ross, AtCor Medical's President and CEO. "Many studies have established that increased central pressure is associated with increased cardiovascular risk -- and that central pressure can be reduced with drug therapy and lifestyle changes. But now, for the first time, clinicians have a specific central pressure target for use in intervention strategies.
"The evidence continues to accumulate and is very compelling; reliance on brachial cuff pressures to assess risk and develop intervention strategies masks many patients' true risk and when brachial cuff and central pressures are included in the same model, brachial cuff pressures cease to be statistically significant. In patient care and in pharmaceutical trials it is critically important to assess central pressures."
About AtCor Medical
AtCor Medical develops and markets products for the early detection of cardiovascular risk and management of cardiovascular disease. Its technology allows researchers and clinicians to measure central blood pressure non-invasively. The company's SphygmoCor system visibly identifies the effects of reflected blood pressure in the central aortic pressure wave, effects which cannot be detected with standard blood pressure monitoring. More than 2,100 SphygmoCor systems are currently in use worldwide at major medical institutions, in clinical trials with leading pharmaceutical companies and in physicians' offices. The company's technology has been featured in over 400 peer-reviewed studies published in leading medical journals. AtCor has operations in Australia, the United States and Europe. For further information, please visit our web site at [ www.atcormedical.com ]
(1) High Central Pulse Pressure Is Independently Associated With Adverse Cardiovascular Outcome: The Strong Heart Study, Mary J. Roman et al. Journal of the American College of Cardiology Vol. 54, No.18, 2009