Objectve To assess the impact of glycemic variability on blood pressure in hospitalized patients with cardiac disease. Methods In 40 patients with cardiovascular disease, the glucose levels were monitored by flash continuous glucose monitoring (FGM; Free-Style Libre™ or Free-Style Libre Pro; Abbott, Witney, UK) and self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) for 14 days. Blood pressure measurements were performed twice daily (morning and evening) at the same time as the glucose level measurement using SMBG. Results The detection rate of hypoglycemia using the FGM method was significantly higher than that with the 5-point SMBG method (77.5% vs. 5.0%, p<0.001). Changes in the systolic blood pressure from evening to the next morning [morning - evening (ME) difference] were significantly correlated with night glucose variability (r=0.63, P<0.001). A multiple regression analysis showed that night glucose variability using FGM was more closely correlated with the ME difference [r=0.62 (95% confidence interval, 0.019-0.051); p<0.001] than with the age, body mass index, or smoking history. Night glucose variability was also more closely associated with the ME difference in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) than in those with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or heart failure (HF) (r=0.83, p=0.058). Conclusion Night glucose variability is associated with the ME blood pressure difference, and FGM is more accurate than the 5-point SMBG approach for detecting such variability.
