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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Non-invasive Assessment of Microvascular and Endothelial Function
05:41

Non-invasive Assessment of Microvascular and Endothelial Function

Published on: January 29, 2013

Interrelation of cardiac and vascular structure in young men with borderline hypertension

A Bergbrant1, L Hansson, S Jern

  • 1Department of Medicine, Ostra Hospital, University of Göteborg, Sweden.

European Heart Journal
|October 1, 1993
PubMed

Insights

Cardiovascular changes like left ventricular hypertrophy and vascular remodeling occur early in borderline hypertension. These changes develop in parallel and are not solely driven by blood pressure levels, suggesting other factors are involved.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Hypertension Research
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • The relationship between left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and structural vascular changes in relation to elevated blood pressure (BP) remains unclear.
  • It is debated whether these cardiovascular alterations are primary or secondary to hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interplay between left ventricular mass (LVM) and minimal vascular resistance (Rmin) in borderline hypertensive (BH) men.
  • To determine if cardiovascular changes are primary or secondary to BP elevation in early hypertension.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 54 borderline hypertensive men and 20 normotensive controls (aged 20 years).
  • Measured LVM via echocardiography, Rmin from calf and forearm blood flow, and central hemodynamics using intra-arterial BP recordings and dye dilution.
  • Classified BH individuals into normokinetic (NBH) and hyperkinetic (HBH) subgroups.

Main Results:

  • LVM and Rmin correlated with body size but only weakly with BP in BH men.
  • NBH subgroup showed significantly higher Rmin, indicating structural vascular changes.
  • Significant correlation between LVM and Rmin in NBH, persisting after body size correction, but not in HBH or normotensive controls.

Conclusions:

  • Cardiovascular changes and structural remodeling appear early in borderline hypertension.
  • Cardiac and vascular adaptations develop in parallel.
  • Factors beyond elevated blood pressure significantly influence structural adaptation in mildly hypertensive states.

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