In-treatment midwall and endocardial fractional shortening predict cardiovascular outcome in hypertensive patients with preserved baseline systolic ventricular function: the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction study.
BACKGROUND
Endocardial fractional shortening (EFS) and midwall shortening (MWS) are impaired in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. However, it remains unknown whether improvement of left ventricular systolic function during treatment reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients with preserved left ventricular function.


METHODS
Echocardiograms were performed yearly in 840 hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy and baseline left ventricular ejection fraction more and equal to 50%. Baseline and annual in-treatment levels of EFS, MWS and blood pressure (BP) were related to occurrence of a composite endpoint (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke) and the component endpoints during 3914 patient-years of follow-up.


RESULTS
Adjusting for in-treatment BP, left ventricular mass, relative wall thickness and randomized treatments, higher in-treatment EFS was associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction (by 35% per standard deviation [4.5%], P = 0.004) and heart failure (49%, P < 0.001), but in-treatment stress-corrected EFS predicted only incident heart failure (41%, P = 0.014) but not other endpoints. Higher in-treatment MWS tended to be associated with lower risk of composite endpoints (16% per standard deviation [1.8%], P = 0.07) and was significantly associated with myocardial infarction (33%, P = 0.004) and heart failure (43%, P < 0.001). Higher in-treatment stress-corrected MWS was associated with lower rates of myocardial infarction (35%, P = 0.021) and heart failure (50%, P = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
These results support a prognostic role for left ventricular myocardial function, as estimated by stress-corrected MWS, during aggressive BP lowering in hypertensive patients with preserved ejection fraction at baseline evaluation.
Wachtell
Kristian
K
Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark. kristian@wachtell.net
Gerdts
Eva
E
Palmieri
Vittorio
V
Olsen
Michael H
MH
Nieminen
Markku S
MS
Papademetriou
Vasilios
V
Boman
Kurt
K
Dahlöf
Björn
B
Aurigemma
Gerard P
GP
Rokkedal
Jens E
JE
Devereux
Richard B
RB
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D004452:Echocardiography; D004699:Endocardium / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019808:Losartan / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D013599:Systole / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016276:Ventricular Function; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*
D019808:Losartan