[Relation between left ventricular mass and function with plasma catecholamines in progeny of hypertensive parents]

To study whether left ventricular mass and function are related to the activity of the sympathetic nerves in progeny of hypertensive parents, LV parameters by echocardiography and plasma catecholamines by HPLC were used in 33 normotensive sons with two hypertensive parents (SHT) and 33 normotensive sons without family history of hypertension (SNT). The results showed that interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall thickness, left ventricular mass were significantly greater in SHT group than in the SNT group. No significant difference was found in plasma catecholamines between SNT group and SHT group. But, positive correlation between left ventricular mass and plasma norepinephrine was observed both in SHT group and SNT group. The regression coefficient in SNT was greater than that in SHT. The left ventricular mass and plasma epinephrine were positively correlated in SHT group. These results suggest that cardiac involvement may precede blood pressure elevation in SHT group and the changes of cardiac morphology might show that myocardium is more sensitive to the activity of sympathetic nerves system in SHT than in SNT.