1995 Volume 17 Issue 3 Pages 247-259
Diurnal variations of blood pressure and physical activities were analyzed in patients with cerebrovascular disorders (CVDs). Periodic changes were identified and compared between the patients and normal volunteers. The relationship between blood pressure and periodic patterns of physical activities was evaluated. Blood pressure was recorded by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and physical activities were estimated by using acceleration sensors. Frequency analysis based on the maximum entropy method (MEM) and curve fitting by the nonlinear least squares method were applied to assess the diurnal changes in 110 patients with CVDs and 50 normal subjects. While the normal subjects showed a periodic pattern with two basic period lengths of 24 ± 3 hours and 12 ± 3 hours, the CVD patients often displayed deviations from this basic pattern. In addition, different types of CVDs were associated with each different periodic pattern. Among the CVD patients, some cases with cerebral thrombosis in the perforating artery revealed disagreement between the physical activities and blood pressure with respect to the period length and/or the acrophase. This finding could indicate that the diurnal periodic pattern of blood pressure is influenced by the individual nature of the CVD as well as by the physical activity.
