Structural changes in small resistance arteries and left ventricular geometry in patients with primary and secondary hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
To prospectively evaluate the interrelationships between left ventricular (LV) geometry and structural characteristics of the vessel wall in small resistance arteries in patients with consecutive primary and secondary hypertension.


METHODS
In 14 patients with phaeochromocytoma, 12 with primary aldosteronism, 25 with renovascular, 25 with essential hypertension and 12 normotensive controls, an echocardiographic study for the measurement of LV mass index and relative wall thickness (RWT) was performed. Morphological characteristics of small resistance arteries (relaxed diameter < 300 microm) were directly evaluated by a micromyographic technique.


RESULTS
A total of 25 patients had normal LV mass and geometry, 28 patients had normal RWT (< 0.45) and 23 patients had a RWT >or= 0.45; all normotensive subjects had normal LV mass and geometry. Media to lumen ratio (M/L) in subcutaneous small arteries was greater in hypertensive patients with concentric LV hypertrophy in respect to normotensives (ANOVA P = 0.01) and hypertensives with normal LV geometry (ANOVA P = 0.05). In the whole group of hypertensive patients the correlation coefficient between M/L and LV mass index was 0.33 (P < 0.05); the correlation coefficient between M/L and RWT was 0.46 (P < 0.01) and it was higher in primary aldosteronism (r = 0.67) and renovascular hypertension patients (r = 0.46).


CONCLUSIONS
A close relation between morphology of subcutaneous small resistance arteries and LV geometric patterns may be observed in hypertensive patients; this relationship is more evident when the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is activated.
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy. muiesan@master.cci.unibs.it
Maria Lorenza
ML
Muiesan
Damiano
D
Rizzoni
Massimo
M
Salvetti
Enzo
E
Porteri
Cristina
C
Monteduro
Daniele
D
Guelfi
Maurizio
M
Castellano
Guido
G
Garavelli
Enrico
E
Agabiti-Rosei
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood; D001158:Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*
D000450:Aldosterone; D009638:Norepinephrine