Persistence of increased left ventricular mass despite optimal blood pressure control in hypertension.
BACKGROUND
Left ventricular hypertrophy is an adverse risk marker in essential hypertension and its regression has a favorable effect on prognosis. It is unclear whether blood pressure normalization induced by long-term therapy is able to normalize left ventricular mass completely.


METHODS
In the setting of a prospective cohort study, 107 consecutive hypertensive patients who achieved blood pressure normalization (clinic blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg on > or = 3 consecutive visits) under long-term (1-10 years, average 2.9) drug treatment were individually matched with 107 healthy normotensive controls by gender, age (+/- 5 years), body mass index (+/- 3 kg/m2), and clinic systolic blood pressure (+/- 5 mmHg) in a case-control design. All subjects underwent 24-hour blood pressure monitoring and M-mode echocardiography.


RESULTS
Treated hypertensive patients and normotensive controls did not differ by age, body mass index, clinic blood pressure (128/82 vs 128/81 mmHg), and 24-hour blood pressure (120/77 vs 120/76 mmHg). Left ventricular mass and relative wall thickness were greater in the hypertensive than in the normotensive group (97 +/- 24 vs 86 +/- 17 g/m2 and 0.40 +/- 0.08 vs 0.37 +/- 0.08, both p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Left ventricular mass is greater in well-controlled hypertensive patients than in normotensive controls matched by age, obesity, gender, and clinic and 24-hour blood pressure. This finding is consistent with the lower than epidemiologically expected reduction in coronary heart disease risk during antihypertensive therapy and might reflect the persistent effect on left ventricular mass of hemodynamic and/or non-hemodynamic factors other than blood pressure in treated patients with essential hypertension.
Schillaci
G
G
Division of Medicine, Hospital Beato G. Villa, Città della Pieve, Italy. skill@ftbcc.it
Verdecchia
P
P
de Simone
G
G
Sacchi
N
N
Bruni
B
B
Benemio
G
G
Porcellati
C
C
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents