Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and diastolic left ventricular abnormalities in established and borderline hypertension

In order to evaluate left ventricular diastolic function by means of Doppler echocardiography in borderline and established hypertension, identified by office and ABPM, compared with normotensives, 54 subjects: 15 normotensives, 11 borderlines and 28 nontreated mild to moderate essential hypertensives were studied. Age and weight were similar among groups. Established hypertensives showed higher left ventricular mass index (p < 0.05), peak velocity of late left ventricular filling (peak A; p < 0.01), ratio peak A/peak velocity of early ventricular filling, peak E (p < 0.01), velocity time integral of systolic atrial volume (p < 0.001), deceleration half time of peak early diastolic inflow velocity (p < 0.05), left ventricular isovolumic relaxation period (IRP; p < 0.01) than normotensives and lower Doppler indexes of early diastolic left ventricular filling (p < 0.01), peak filling rat normalized to mitral stroke volume (PFRn; p < 0.01) than normotensives. Although borderline hypertensives showed intermediate LVM and Doppler indexes between hypertensives and normotensives only IRP (p < 0.05) and PFRn (p < 0.05) were significant different to normotensives. In conclusion, established hypertension leads to abnormalities in left ventricular diastolic function which can be detected by Doppler echocardiography. In borderline hypertension, the left ventricular diastolic abnormalities are predominantly related to the active process of early diastole. Therefore, these indexes may be early markers of left ventricular dysfunction in hypertension.

Early abnormalities of left ventricular function in essential hypertension induced by exercise

In order to assess their ventricular function at rest and during exercise, 42 essential hypertensives (164 +/- 2/98.7 +/- 2 mmHg) and 12 normotensives (131.7 +/- 4/81.2 +/- 1 mmHg) were studied. Ejection fraction (EF), peak filling rate (PFR) and peak ejection rate (PER) were measured by means of gated radionuclide ventriculography. At rest, no differences in EF, PFR and PER between hypertensives and normotensives were found. During exercise, hypertensives showed lower PFR (5.3 +/- 0.2 EDV/s) and EF (67.7 +/- 1%) than normotensives (PFR 7 +/- 0.5 EDV/s, p < 0.005 and EF 79.4 +/- 2%, p < 0.001). Likewise, hypertensive showed a lower increase from rest to exercise in PFR and in EF than normotensives p < 0.001. In addition, hypertensives showed a great individual variability in EF response to exercise, where 23 patients increased EF more than 5% and 19 patients failed to increase it during stress. Moreover, the last group of patients had higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) both at rest and during exercise than patients who increased EF, p < 0.01. In addition, there was a significantly negative correlation between resting SBP and the variation of Ef (r = 0.47 y: 163.1-0.79X, p < 0.01). Left ventricular mass (LVM) was similar in the two groups of hypertensives. On the other hand, there were no differences in any of the variables analyzed between the hypertensives with LV hypertrophy and those with normal LVM. These findings suggest that abnormalities in both systolic and diastolic LV during exercise may be found in hypertensive patients even before myocardial hypertrophy can be detected

Analysis of left ventricular function by radionuclide ventriculogram in hypertensive patients treated with atenolol

The myocardial effects of a daily oral dose of atenolol were studied by radionuclide multitriggered ventriculogram in 10 patients (7 men and 3 women) with mild to moderate essential hypertension, aged 29 to 53 years (mean 43) at rest and during exercise. Before and after two months of treatment with 100 mg/day orally of atenolol, the following variables were recordedÑ systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), ejection fraction (EF), peak filling rate (PFR) and peak ejection rate (PER). Beta-blockade treatment caused a significant drop in SBP and DBP, both at rest and during exerciseñ HR slowed down at rest and during exercise. PFR diminished at rest and during exercise. PER was reduced at rest and during exercise (p < 0.001). No significant changes in EF were observed after treatment with atenolol. In conclusion,k atenolol impaired left ventricular relaxation in spite of the drop in blood pressure

Monitoreo ambulatorio automatico de la presion arterial de 24 horas (MAAPA) en hipertensos / Automated ambulatory 24 h monitoring of blood pressure in hypertensive patients

El Maapa es consideraod un método más representativo que la medición casual de la presión arterial (PA) para evaluar el efecto que esta ejerce sobre los órganos blanco. El método Maapa (Space Labs 90202) fue previamente validado con mediciones simultáneas mediante el esfigmomanómetro de mercurio (E) o un catéter intraarterial en arteria radial (IA) en reposo. El coeficiente de correlación para la PA sistólica (PAS) entre Maapa e IA fue de 0,89 (p < 0,0001) y para la diastólica (PAD) de 0,78 (p < 0,0001) y entre Maapa y E fue de 0,98 para la PAS y de 0,97 para la PAD (p < 0,0001). Con el objeto de evaluar el comportamiento de la PA durante las 24 h en actividad habitual, se estudiaron 18 individuos normotensos sin antecedentes familiares de hipertensión arterial (23-44 años) y 24 hipertensos esenciales sin tratamiento (28-65 años). En los hipertensos, el promedio de PAS en 24 h fue de 148,3 ñ 15 y de l54 ñ 12 mmHg en el período de actividad, el porcentaje de valores (límite de confiabilidad al 95%) de PAS por sobre 140 mmHg fue durante las 24 h del 58-73% y entre la 06-21 h del 79-90%, mientras que el promedio de PAD en 24 h 95,8 ñ 13 y en el período de actividad fue de 102,2 ñ 10 mmHg, el porcentaje de los valores de PAD por encima de 90 mmHg fueron en las 24 h de 56-70% y entre las 06-21 h de 77-91%. En los normotensos, el promedio de la PAS en 24 h fue de 120,6 ñ 11 y de 127,5 ñ 7 mmHg de 6 a 21 h, las lecturas de la PAS sobre 140 mmHg fueron de 0-10,5% y 0-17,2%. El promedio de...