title: [Left ventricular hypertrophy and ambulatory blood pressure].
abstract: The relationship between ambulatory blood pressure and degree of left ventricular hypertrophy is analysed with a triple objective: to assess the value of ambulatory blood pressure recording; the observation of better correlations between left ventricular mass (LVM) and systolic BP with ambulatory rather than clinical recordings is one of the most convincing arguments in favour of the prognostic value of this technique; to guide analysis of ambulatory blood pressure recordings. These recordings provide a large number of measurements over a period of variable duration. The selection of the frequency of measurement, the duration of the recording and the periods of recording (at work, during the day or night), of the criteria of interpretation (average, variability, distribution of values) is partially arbitrary. The possibility of predicting the degree of LVH from these results is one of the only rational approaches while awaiting validation with respect to long-term outcome. In the author's experience, the average of the systolic blood pressure values during the period of activity is the parameter which is most closely related to LVM in untreated hypertensive patients; to improve our understanding of the relationship between the blood pressure, LVM and left ventricular function. There is evidence that the LVH of hypertensive patients has a multifactorial basis. The use of only occasional blood pressure measurements in clinical studies may have increased the apparent importance of one or another factor related to the degree of LVH. The precise influence of these factors, independent of their possible relationship to the blood pressure, should now be reevaluated with respect to ambulatory blood pressure recordings.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Cardiologique, Pessac.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gosse
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dallocchio
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D013599:Systole; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left
vernacular_title: Hypertrophie ventriculaire gauche et pression artérielle ambulatoire.