The coronary hemodynamics and left ventricular function in patients with compensated hypertension

In this study, we tried to characterize the changes in left ventricular (LV) function and coronary hemodynamics in patients with compensated hypertension (HT) who were free from coronary artery disease. The study group consisted of 10 men with compensated essential HT at ages 48-65 years (mean = 58). The durations of HT history for the various patients ranged from 5 to 14 years. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was 122 +/- 2 mmHg at the time of study. The control group was composed of 8 men with mild mitral valve prolapse. They were studied because of chest pain with no demonstratable pathological conditions. Their ages ranged from 39 to 65 years (mean = 57). The MAP for controls was 86 +/- 3 mmHg. All patients in both groups underwent routine cardiac catheterization, coronary arteriography, and measurements of the coronary sinus (CS) and great cardiac vein (GCV) blood flows. Left ventricular muscle mass (LVMM), coronary resistance and coronary reserve were also derived from the hemodynamic study. There was a significant difference in the LVMM index between the study patients (114.9 g/m2) and the control subjects (96.8 g/m2, p less than 0.001). The LV function of the patients in the study group was essentially normal, but the following parameters were significantly different from those of the control subjects: cardiac index, stroke volume index, and dp/dtmax. There was a good correlation between repeated measurements of both the CS and GCV blood flows (r = 0.97 for both).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)