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Whole blood viscosity as a determinant of cardiac hypertrophy in systemic hypertension
Insights
Essential hypertension is linked to increased blood viscosity and cardiac hypertrophy. Higher blood viscosity correlates strongly with left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients, suggesting a role in cardiac changes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hypertension Research
- Hemodynamics
Background:
- Essential hypertension is a common condition associated with cardiovascular complications.
- Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is a significant predictor of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients.
- The role of blood viscosity in the development of hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between blood pressure (BP), blood viscosity, and echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) muscle mass in patients with essential hypertension.
- To determine if blood viscosity is associated with LV hypertrophy in essential hypertension.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study comparing 24 patients with essential hypertension and 13 normotensive controls.
- Echocardiography was used to measure LV muscle mass.
- Blood viscosity was measured at a shear rate of 104 sec-1.
Main Results:
- Hypertensive patients exhibited significantly greater LV mass and higher blood viscosity compared to controls.
- A strong positive correlation was found between LV mass and blood viscosity at 104 sec-1 among hypertensive patients (r = 0.80, p < 0.001).
- Hypertensive patients with LV hypertrophy showed consistently increased blood viscosity compared to those with normal LV mass.
Conclusions:
- Increased blood viscosity may be a contributing factor to or a consequence of hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy.
- Blood viscosity is a potentially important factor in the pathophysiology of essential hypertension and its cardiac manifestations.
Abstract:
The relationships among blood pressure (BP), blood viscosity and echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) muscle mass were evaluated in 24 patients with essential hypertension and in 13 normotensive control subjects. LV mass was greater in the hypertensive patients than in the control subjects (225 +/- 69 vs 170 +/- 31 g, p less than 0.02) as was blood viscosity at a shear rate of 104 sec-1 (4.7 +/- 0.1 vs 4.3 +/- 0.2 cp, p less than 0.005). Among the hypertensive patients, LV mass was most closely related to viscosity at 104 sec-1 (r = 0.80, p less than 0.001), whereas only weak correlations were found between LV mass and systolic or diastolic BP (r = 0.45, p less than 0.05 for both). The 14 hypertensive patients with normal LV mass had viscosity similar to that in control subjects (4.5 +/- 0.3 vs 4.3 +/- 0.2 cp), whereas viscosity was consistently increased (5.0 +/- 0.4 cp, p less than 0.02) in hypertensive patients with LV hypertrophy. Thus, increased blood viscosity may be a determinant of or a response to hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy.