Effects of spironolactone-altizide on left ventricular hypertrophy

To investigate the effects of the association spironolactone (25 mg)/altizide (15 mg) as monotherapy on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Additionally, to study the correlation between left ventricular mass (LVM) index and electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for LVH.

This was an open, prospective study of 6 months. Patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were treated with spironolactone/altizide for two months and were included in the study if their blood pressure (BP) at the end of this first treatment period was normalised according to protocol criteria (systolic BP < 160 mm Hg and diastolic BP < 95 mm Hg). Patients then entered a second 4-month treatment period. LVM was determined by echocardiography performed at the beginning of treatment and after 6 months. LVH was defined as LVM > or = 100 g/m2 in women and LVM > or = 131 g/m2 in men. Echocardiograms were interpreted blindly by two echocardiography reading laboratories. Seventy-one patients with a normalised BP after two months of treatment, were enrolled in the study. Changes in LVM index were studied in 31/71 patients with LVH (25 women and 6 men, mean LVM index +/- (SD) 119.9 +/- 16.4 g/m2 in women and 147.8 +/- 10.9 g/m2 in men). Spironolactone/altizide significantly reduced LVM index by 10%, from 125.3 +/- 22.5 to 114.2 +/- 25.1 g/m2 (p < 0.005). Posterior and septal wall thickness decreased by 4% (p = 0.06) and 5% (p = 0.026), respectively. End-diastolic dimension was reduced by 3%, from 50.3 +/- 3.3 to 48.9 +/- 3.4 mm (p = 0.006). The posterior wall thickness to end-diastolic dimension ratio remained unchanged. Complete regression of LVH according to mass criteria occurred in 11 patients out of 31 (34.5%). The observed changes in ECG voltage criteria were in accordance with a decrease of LVM index.

In this open study, the potassium-sparing diuretic spironolactone/altizide decreases LVM index in hypertensive patients, who were selected for follow-up because they had echocardiographic LVH and because their BP had normalised during an initial 2-month treatment period.