Echocardiographic Evaluation of Left Ventricle in Patients with Untreated Mild Hypertension in Comparison with Control Group – a Historical Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Systemic hypertension is one of the major risk factors of heart failure and especially left ventricular dysfunction. Mild hypertension is mostly asymptomatic and can remain hidden for years. Moreover, it can lead to morphologic changes and functional alterations in the myocardial structure. This study is designed to determine left ventricular morphologic change in mild hypertensive patients in comparison with the healthy population by 2-dimentional echocardiography. Methods: During this historical cohort study, 38 mild hypertensive and 37 normotensive participants underwent left ventricle echocardiographic assessment. Being a Smoker or alcoholic, having a history of antihypertensive therapy and some other characteristics were excluded from this study. Student t-test and ANOVA were selected statistical tests for analysis in SPSS19. Findings: The mean age of the study population was 47.45 ± 9.35 years. Ejection fraction had a significant difference between the two groups (P< 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant difference between the two groups in interventricular septum and posterior wall in both end systolic and end diastolic phases (P < 0.05). Furthermore, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) of the two groups had a significant difference (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The major parameters of the left ventricle, such as LV mass index and ejection fraction, in mild hypertensive participants were in a worse situation than the healthy group. Therefore, early diagnosis of hypertension in the healthy populations is recommended for avoiding irreversible left ventricular dysfunctions. Keywords: Left ventricle, Echocardiography, Hypertension