Ventricular arrhythmias in normotensive subjects and in mild hypertensive patients.
Twenty-five normotensive subjects (14 men, 11 women) aged from 25 to 60 years (mean 36) and 30 untreated patients with mild hypertension (stages 1 and 2, JNC V) without target organ damage (16 men, 14 women), aged 26-59 years (mean 35.8) underwent continuous 24-hour ECG Holter monitoring with a Fukuda Denshi SM-40 ambulatory recorder and SCM-400 ECG analyzer. During 24-hour ambulatory ECG recording, mean heart rate was slightly but not significantly higher in hypertensive patients (73.3 +/- 10 beats per minute [bpm]) in comparison with normotensive subjects (71.2 +/- 12 bpm). The prevalence of premature atrial contractions was similar in the two groups. Total ventricular arrhythmias were more prevalent in the group of mild hypertensive patients (P < 0.05), who also had a higher prevalence in complex forms of ectopy (r = 0.81 for bigeminy; r = 0.83 for trigeminy; r = 0.83 for couplets). Holter recordings did not show abnormalities of ST-T wave or episodes of silent ischemia.
Fariello
R
R
Department of Internal Medicine, Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
Crippa
M
M
Damiani
G
G
Notaristefano
I
I
Costa
R
R
Boni
E
E
Corda
L
L
Chiari
E
E
Zaninelli
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013612:Tachycardia, Ectopic Atrial / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology