title: Diastolic function and tachycardia in hypertensive children.
abstract: We investigated the prevalence and potential predictors of Doppler echocardiographic evidence of diastolic function in untreated hypertensive children. Doppler and M-mode echocardiographic values from 42 children (mean age 13, range 5-17 years) from a pediatric hypertension clinic were retrospectively reviewed and compared to data from 39 age and gender matched normotensive children in a control group. Compared to the participants in the control group, hypertensive patients had increased mean body mass index (29 v 19 kg/M2, P < .0001), peak mitral A velocity (57 v 42 cm/sec, P < .0001), isovolumic relaxation time (65 v 42 msec, P < .0001, resting heart rate (90 v 74 bpm, P < .0001), mitral E deceleration time (150 v 137 msec, P = .006), indexed left ventricular mass index (32 v 26 g/M2.7, P < .0001), relative left ventricular wall thickness (0.32 v 0.29, P = .02), and decreased ratio of peak mitral E velocity/peak mitral A velocity (1.7 v 2.1, P = .0001). Mean age, height, mitral E velocity, mitral A deceleration time, fractional shortening, and indexed left ventricular diastolic dimension were similar in patients and control group children. In the hypertensive patients, multivariate analysis demonstrated that heart rate (P = .0008) and systolic blood pressure (P = .03) were significant predictors of peak A velocity. In addition, heart rate (P = .0003), body mass index (P = .04), and indexed left ventricular diastolic dimension (P = .04) predicted the ratio of peak E/peak A velocity. None of the measures of diastolic function correlated with left ventricular mass index or relative wall thickness. Furthermore, none of the analyzed variables predicted isovolumic relaxation time or mitral E deceleration time. We conclude that untreated hypertensive children have Doppler indices suggestive of impaired left ventricular relaxation. Resting heart rate was the strongest predictor of abnormal diastolic indices.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, St Louis Children's Hospital, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Bergersen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dick
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Cole
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003971:Diastole; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000209:etiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000209:etiology*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left