Prevalence and determinants of left ventricular hypertrophy and remodelling patterns in hypertensive patients: the St. Petersburg study.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients with the use of different threshold values and also to assess the distribution of left ventricular (LV) geometry patterns verified by two different methods of relative wall thickness (RWT) calculation. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of different demographic determinants into prevalence of LVH and remodelling patterns. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study in a population-based sample of 734 essential hypertensives from the primary care clinic was undertaken. Echocardiography was performed and analysed by trained observers. The LV posterior wall thickness (PWd), interventricular septum (IVSd) and LV mass index (LVMI) were measured. The following criteria for LVH definition were used: LVMI >125 g/m2 and 134/110 g/m2, and >131/110 and 116/104 g/m2 in males/females, respectively. The RWT was calculated as a 2PWd/LVDD or PWd + IVSd/LVDD, where LVDD is the LV internal dimension at the end of diastole. The values exceeding 0.45 were considered evidence for concentric remodelling. RESULTS: Prevalence of LVH ranged from 52.2 to 72.2% by the use of different threshold for LVH definition. It was shown that the LVH estimation without sex-specific criteria underestimates the prevalence of LVH in women and overestimates it in men. The prevalence of concentric LVH and concentric remodelling was higher when the IVSd was included in the RWT calculation. Only one-quarter of patients were free from morphological alterations and eccentric LVH was as frequently observed as concentric LVH. Sex, obesity stage and type as well as hypertension level and duration contributed to LVH level and remodelling pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The use of different threshold values can significantly influence the assessment of prevalence of LVH in hypertension. The "mild" criteria, to our opinion, can overestimate the prevalence of structural LV remodelling, while implementation of sex-specific criteria for the definition of LVH increases the sensitivity of the method. In any way, eccentric LVH is as common for hypertension as a concentric LVH, the proportion of the latter increasing with age and more frequently observed in males. Concomitant obesity, in particular abdominal, significantly increases LVH prevalence.

Correction of hypertensive cardiac remodelling: comparison of different antihypertensive therapies.

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of long-term treatment with different types of antihypertensive drugs on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and diastolic function in patients with essential hypertension. We examined 60 patients with mild to moderate hypertension from 35 to 55 years old (middle age 44.3 +/- 2.3 yrs) having no concomitant diseases. Patients were treated for six months with different types of antihypertensive drugs: 21 patient received nifedipine-retard 40 mg/day, 20--atenolol 100 mg/day, 10--losartan potassium 100 mg/day, 9--perindopril 4 mg/day. Cardiac structure and function was studied by echocardiography. For the left ventricle (LV) the diastolic mass normalised for body surface area (LVMI), the ratio of the early and atrial mitral inflow velocities (E/A), isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT), relative wall thickness (RWT) were measured. After six months of treatment LVMI decreased by 9% in nifedipine group (P < 0.01), by 10.5% in atenolol group (P < 0.01), by 12% in losartan group (P < 0.01) and by 8.2% in perindopril group (NS). RWT decreased in all groups, while diastolic dimension index remained unchanged. The reversal of LVH was not related to blood pressure reduction. It was more significant in patients with initially higher values of LVMI. Antihypertensive effects of the drugs were comparable. Long-term treatment with all types of selected drugs improves cardiac structure and function independently of their antihypertensive action. Our data suggest that on the basis of the influence on cardiac remodelling no preference for any studied drug can be discerned. The work had the following source of support: the atenolol (Falitonsin) and nifedipine-retard (Corinfar-retard) were provided by the AWD Company (Germany), losartan potassium has been provided by Merck Sharp & Dohme Company and perindopril (Prestarium) by the Servier Group.