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Relationship between blood pressure and left ventricular mass in male patients with essential hypertension
1Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki Mitsubishi Hospital.
Insights
The duration and severity of high diastolic blood pressure are linked to increased left ventricular mass index in untreated hypertension. Longer and more frequent high blood pressure episodes correlate with greater left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hypertension Research
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Essential hypertension is a common condition.
- Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular events.
- The relationship between hypertension duration/severity and LVH requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between the severity and duration of untreated essential hypertension and echocardiographically detected left ventricular hypertrophy (echo-LVH).
- To assess the impact of diastolic blood pressure patterns on left ventricular mass index.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 92 untreated essential hypertensive patients observed for over 5 years.
- Categorization into three groups based on the percentage of diastolic hypertension (>95 mmHg) during observation.
- Measurement of left ventricular (LV) mass index using echocardiography at the end of the observation period.
Main Results:
- LV mass index was significantly higher in groups with more frequent diastolic hypertension (Groups I and II) compared to Group III.
- Prevalence of echo-LVH was substantially higher in Group I (34.4%) and Group II (18.4%) versus Group III (4.8%).
- Patients with echo-LVH had a significantly higher average diastolic blood pressure (99.3 mmHg) than those without (95.7 mmHg).
Conclusions:
- The degree and duration of diastolic pressure elevation are closely correlated with left ventricular mass index in untreated essential hypertension.
- Prolonged and severe hypertension significantly contributes to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy.
- Echocardiography is crucial for assessing LVH in hypertensive patients.
Abstract:
We performed retrospective study of the relationship between the severity and duration of hypertension and echocardiographically-detected left ventricular hypertrophy (echo-LVH) in patients with untreated essential hypertension. The subjects consisted of 92 untreated essential hypertensives who were observed for more than 5 years from the onset of diastolic hypertension (greater than or equal to 95 mmHg), and whose left ventricular (LV) mass index was measured at the end of the observation period. On the basis of the frequency of diastolic hypertension during the observation period, the population was categorized in 3 groups. In Group I (32 cases), diastolic hypertension was observed in more than 80% of blood pressures obtained throughout the entire observation period. In Group II (38 cases), diastolic hypertension was observed in 33 to 80% of the observation period. In Group III (22 cases), diastolic hypertension was observed in less than 33% of the observation period. The average diastolic blood pressure during the entire observation period in each group were 101.0, 96.0, and 90.7 mmHg in groups I, II, and III, respectively. The LV mass index was significantly higher in groups I (114.6 g/m2) and II (105.3 g/m2) than in group III (90.7 g/m2) (p less than 0.01). The prevalence of echo-LVH (more than 121 g/m2) was 34.4%, 18.4%, and 4.8% in groups I, II, and III, respectively. The average diastolic blood pressure in patients with echo-LVH (99.3 +/- 5.1 mmHg) was significantly higher than in patients without echo-LVH (95.7 +/- 4.7 mmHg). We concluded that the degree and duration of diastolic pressure elevation are closely correlated to the LV mass index.