title: Left ventricular diastolic function in hypertension: methodological considerations and clinical implications.
abstract: The assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function should be an integral part of a routine examination of hypertensive patient; indeed when LV diastolic function is impaired, it is possible to have heart failure even with preserved LV ejection fraction. Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) occurs frequently and is associated to heart disease. Doppler echocardiography is the best tool for early LVDD diagnosis. Hypertension affects LV relaxation and when left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) occurs, it decreases compliance too, so it is important to calculate Doppler echocardiography parameters, for diastolic function evaluation, in all hypertensive patients. The purpose of our review was to discuss about the strong relationship between LVDD and hypertension, and their relationship with LV systolic function. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the relationship between the arterial stiffness and LV structure and function in hypertensive patients.
authors.affiliation: ASL Department of Cardiology, Brindisi District, Italy.
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palmiero
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Disease Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Annapaola
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.affiliation: ASL Department of Cardiology, Brindisi District, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maiello
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cameli
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro Amedeo
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Modesti
authors.affiliation: Clinica Medica, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Lorenza
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Muiesan
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Novo
authors.affiliation: Cardiologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Pier Sergio
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Disease Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scicchitano
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Chirurgica, Medica, Molecolare e dell'Area Critica, Universita di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pedrinelli
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Disease Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco Matteo
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ciccone
keywords: Diastolic dysfunction; Diastolic function; Hypertension; Left ventricular