title: [Myocardial hypertrophy and arterial hypertension].
abstract: Myocardial hypertrophy in different cardiac diseases is considered to be an adaptive mechanism to the increase of hemodynamic load which  might restore to normal radius/wall thickness ratio and consequently to normalize wall stress. However, it has been widely demonstrated that beside the hemodynamic load, other factors contribute to the development of myocardial hypertrophy. It has been shown that in hypertensive patients, functional abnormalities (increased contribution of atrial systole to total diastolic filling, increased isovolumic relaxation period, prolonged diastolic duration, slowed ventricular filling and altered diastolic distensibility) precede the development of myocardial hypertrophy. Thus, in hypertensive patients, sign and symptoms of heart failure could be manifested in absence of myocardial hypertrophy, and might be exclusively due to diastolic dysfunction (with normal systolic function). Systolic function might be involved and compromised late when focal myocardial cell death and fibrosis occur and consequently ¿adequate¿ hypertrophy is shifted to ¿inadequate¿. This evolution is accompanied by morphological and functional changes of the myocardium similar to those encountered in dilated cardiomyopathy. Impairment of systolic function in ¿inadequate¿ hypertrophy is also due to structural changes; altered ratio between sarcomers and mitochondria, increased intercapillary distance, sarcoplasmatic reticulum dysfunction, increase of collagene component with a consequent increment of wall rigidity, hypertrophy of arterial tunica media, which alters coronary flow and coronary reserve. The progression of these morpho-functional abnormalities is a very slow process, in which adaptive mechanism mediated by several enzymes and contractile protein, contribute to maintain myocardial viability. However, over the long course, disseminated focal myocardial cell necrosis and fibrosis, which is an evolving process, is considered to be the main responsible factor for the irreversible myocardial damage and systolic dysfunction in advanced myocardial inadequate hypertrophy.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Cardiologia, Università di Torino.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trevi
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sheiban
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gorni
mesh_terms: D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
vernacular_title: Ipertrofia miocardica ed ipertensione arteriosa.