title: Left ventricular systolic dysfunction detected by speckle tracking in hypertensive patients with preserved ejection fraction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The spectrum of hypertensive heart disease is wide, and can include left ventricular dysfunction. The development of echocardiographic parameters to improve patient stratification and to identify early adverse changes could be clinically useful. Aim To identify subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in hypertensive subjects with preserved ejection fraction (>55%), identified by global parameters of myocardial strain on speckle tracking imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a comparative observational study of two groups of individuals: normotensive (n=20, age 59 ± 7 years, 55% male) and hypertensive (n=229, age 62 ± 12 years, 57% male). Left ventricular function was assessed by various conventional clinical and echocardiographic parameters and global longitudinal and circumferential myocardial strain. Cut-off values to detect subclinical left ventricular dysfunction were established and applied in the hypertensive group. The Student's t test, Mann-Whitney test and chi-square test were used for the comparative statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most hypertensive subjects (53.7%) had grade I hypertension; blood pressure was controlled in 64.9%, and 54.8% showed left ventricular structural changes. Comparison between the normotensive and hypertensive groups showed no significant differences in parameters of global longitudinal or circumferential systolic strain. Application of the cut-offs to the hypertensive group identified 35 individuals (15.3%) as having subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction as assessed by global longitudinal myocardial strain parameters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this group of hypertensive patients, global myocardial strain parameters identified a group of individuals with subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction despite preserved ejection fraction. The clinical relevance of these findings needs to be assessed in long-term follow-up studies.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Cardiologia, Instituto Cardiovascular de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Hospital de Santa Maria, CCUL, Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address: susanafdgpires@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Hospital de Santa Maria, CCUL, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortez-Dias
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Cardiologia, Instituto Cardiovascular de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Estatística, Centro Nacional de Coleção de Dados em Cardiologia, Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Cardiologia, Instituto Cardiovascular de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Hospital de Santa Maria, CCUL, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Inês
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zimbarra Cabrita
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Cardiologia, Instituto Cardiovascular de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Catarina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Cardiologia, Instituto Cardiovascular de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Hospital de Santa Maria, CCUL, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Fausto J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Pinto
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013318:Stroke Volume; D014463:Ultrasonography; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: Deformação miocárdica; Disfunção ventricular esquerda subclínica; Echocardiography; Ecocardiografia; Hipertensão arterial; Hypertension; Myocardial strain; Speckle tracking; Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction