[Regression of hypertensive cardiovascular changes during treatment with antihypertensive ddrugs]

Antihypertensive medical treatment may induce regression of hypertensive structural cardiovascular changes after a period of time: Hypertrophy of the left ventricle and of the smooth muscle layer in the resistance vessels. In this paper, we refer to significant human studies, published during the last decade, concerning the degree of regression of these presumably secondary structural changes, resulting from antihypertensive treatment. It has been shown that most antihypertensive regimens in common use, calcium antagonists, ACE inhibitors and most beta blockers, but not diuretics and nonspecific vasodilators, are, when effective in lowering blood pressure, also capable of inducing a probably complete regression of the cardiac hypertrophy. However, complete regression of the vascular changes has not been shown.