Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Comprehensive Echocardiographic Assessment of Right Ventricle Function in a Rat Model of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Published on: January 20, 2023
Left ventricular mass and functions in normotensive offspring of hypertensive parents: an echocardiographic study
Sheikh Jalal1, Malik A Rauoof, Khurshid A Khan
1Department of Cardiology, Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Kashmir.
Insights
Children with hypertensive parents show subtle changes in left ventricular (LV) mass, suggesting a potential genetic link to essential hypertension independent of blood pressure.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Genetics
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Conflicting data exists on cardiovascular changes in normotensive individuals with a genetic predisposition to essential hypertension.
- Essential hypertension often has a familial component, indicating a potential genetic influence on cardiovascular health from an early age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential abnormalities in left ventricular (LV) mass and cardiac function in normotensive children of hypertensive parents.
- To test the hypothesis that genetic predisposition to essential hypertension is associated with subclinical cardiac alterations in offspring.
Main Methods:
- Echocardiography (M-mode and Doppler) was used to assess LV dimensions, mass, and systolic/diastolic functions.
- Studied 100 normotensive children of hypertensive parents (OHP) and 100 age/sex-matched normotensive children of normotensive parents (ONP).
Main Results:
- While LV mass was slightly higher in OHP compared to ONP, the difference was not statistically significant.
- No significant differences were observed in LV dimensions, systolic function, or diastolic function between the two groups.
- LV mass showed a trend towards being higher in males and when the mother, rather than the father, was hypertensive.
Conclusions:
- Children with a family history of essential hypertension exhibit modest alterations in LV mass.
- These LV mass alterations may stem from a genetic basis distinct from, yet potentially co-inherited with, essential hypertension.
Objective:
Published observations about cardiovascular alterations in normotensive individuals genetically predisposed to develop essential hypertension are conflicting. We tested the hypothesis that abnormalities in left ventricular mass and/or functions may be present in normotensive children of hypertensive parents.
Methods:
One hundred normotensive offsprings (6 to 18 year age) of hypertensive parents (OHP) and an equal number of age- and sex-matched normotensive offsprings of normotensive parents (ONP) were studied with 2-dimensionally guided M-mode and Doppler echocardiography for left ventricular (LV) dimensions, mass, and systolic and diastolic functions.
Results:
Both the groups had similar body mass index and blood pressure levels. LV dimensions and LV mass in OHP were higher than the corresponding values in ONP but the differences were not statistically significant. LV mass in male OHP was higher than in female OHP; LV mass was also higher when the mother rather than father was hypertensive. None of these differences were statistically significant, however. LV systolic functions were normal and identical in the two subject groups. Indices of LV diastolic function (peak early filling velocity and its deceleration time and late filling velocity) were also normal and similar in the two groups.
Conclusion:
We conclude that children with a family history of essential hypertension have modest alterations in LV mass and these alterations might have a genetic basis separate from but possibly co-inherited with the trait of essential hypertension.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Cardiomyopathy III: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
01:29Heart Failure II: Pathophysiology
01:22Mitral Stenosis I: Introduction