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Doppler echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in mild hypertension
Insights
Mild hypertension can cause abnormal blood flow patterns in the heart, detectable with Doppler echocardiography. These flow abnormalities correlate with age, even in patients with normal heart function.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Physiology
Background:
- Mild hypertension is linked to left ventricular (LV) abnormalities.
- Previous studies show diastolic filling issues in hypertensive patients.
- Doppler flow velocity recordings offer insights into LV function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Doppler-detected flow abnormalities in mild hypertension.
- To assess aortic and mitral valve flow velocities in hypertensive men.
Main Methods:
- Doppler echocardiography was used to record aortic and mitral valve flow velocities.
- 21 men with mild hypertension were studied.
- M-mode echocardiography assessed LV mass and ejection fraction.
Main Results:
- Elevated LV mass was observed in 8 of 19 patients.
- LV ejection fraction remained normal in all patients.
- Age correlated inversely with aortic and early diastolic mitral flow velocities.
- Age correlated positively with late diastolic mitral flow velocity.
Conclusions:
- Doppler flow velocity recordings can detect abnormalities in mild hypertension.
- These flow patterns are influenced by age in hypertensive individuals.
Abstract:
Abnormalities in left ventricular (LV) wall thickness and mass have been demonstrated in patients with mild hypertension utilizing M-mode echocardiography. In addition, studies using radionuclide angiography have demonstrated abnormalities in early diastolic LV filling in asymptomatic hypertensive patients with normal ejection fraction and cardiac output. Recently, Doppler recordings of flow velocity in the ascending aorta and through the mitral valve have been shown to provide useful information about LV function. To determine whether flow abnormalities could be detected in patients with mild hypertension, we recorded Doppler aortic and mitral valve flow velocities in 21 men with mild hypertension. Casual systolic blood pressure was 147 +/- 18 mm Hg (mean +/- SD) and diastolic blood pressure was 96 +/- 9 mm Hg. LV mass (310 +/- 75 g) was elevated (i.e., above the 95% normal prediction interval) in 8 of 19 patients who underwent M-mode echocardiography; LV ejection fraction was normal in all patients (mean, 80%). As in previous studies in normal subjects, we found in these hypertensive patients an inverse correlation between age and both aortic peak flow velocity (r = -0.51, p less than 0.05) and transmitral early diastolic peak flow velocity (r = -0.44, p less than 0.05) and a positive relationship between age and mitral valve late diastolic peak flow velocity (r = 0.73, p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)