Early signs of cardiac involvement in hypertension

Left ventricle diastolic dysfunction in obese patients with newly diagnosed arterial hypertension

“…Although within normal limits, LA was bigger in the group with NDAH compared with the control group. This is in accordance with the study of Palatini et al, who found LA size to be significantly greater in young hypertensive patients with abnormal diastolic filling [23]. Following the reduced diastolic relaxation of LV and the higher atrial contribution to the mitral inflow in LVDF, the load of the LA increases and, according to the Frank-Starling effect, this leads to LA hypertrophy/dilatation [30].…”

“…LVDD usually occurs with long-standing hypertension, but recent studies have shown that NDAH also plays an important role in LVDD pathogenesis [22]. Despite the frequent coexistence of hypertension and obesity, their interrelationship in the development of cardiac involvement is poorly investigated [9,[22][23][24][25][26]. There is a paucity of data on the influence of NDAH on LVDF in obese patients, and to our knowledge, the role of NDAH on mitral inflow parameters in such patients has not been investigated at all.…”

Implications of persistent prehypertension for ageing-related changes in left ventricular geometry and function: The MONICA/KORA Augsburg study

“…Specifically, measurements of relaxation velocities, mitral inflow pattern and left atrial size were all significantly more markedly altered in the prehypertensive group. Recently, a cross-sectional study on young adults with early stages of hypertension concluded that the first cardiac alterations are LV geometric abnormalities, whereas, LV diastolic function seemed only marginally affected, even when multiple parameters of LV filling were taken into account [40]. Our results are clearly more marked, probably due to the fact that our population was older and, in particular, that it was chronically exposed to prehypertensive BP levels.…”

Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Isolated Ambulatory Hypertension in Young Subjects Screened for Stage 1 Hypertension

“…Echocardiography was obtained in 671 subjects, in 609 of whom M-mode images were technically satisfactory by criteria published elsewhere. 13 Left ventricular hypertrophy was defined as a left ventricular mass Ͼ125 g/m 2 in men and Ͼ110 g/m 2 in women. 14 Microalbuminuria was defined as an albumin excretion rate Ն30 mg/24 h.…”