| pubmed-article:12632890 | pubmed:abstractText | The aim of the study was to analyse the heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with moderate essential hypertension complicated by left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Forty-two patients with untreated essential hypertension participated in the study group and 45 normotensives (16M, 29F, age 49.8 +/- 5.6 years) served as the controls. The hypertensives were divided into those with LVH (n = 25, 10M, 15F, age 50.1 +/- 5.9 years) and those without LVH (n = 17, 4M, 13F, age 52.0 +/- 3.4 years). HRV was recorded and analysed using the CardioPSA System, Medatec. In each subject, 30 min. of ECG recording was obtained: 15 min. in the supine, position and 15 min. in the upright position. Fast Fourier transform was used to analyse total power, low frequency (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) and high frequency components (HF, 0.15-0.40 Hz). Left ventricular mass was calculated from echocardiograms using the Deveraux formula. LVH was defined as a left ventricular mass index (LVM) > 134 g/m2 for men and > 110 g/m2 for women. A T-test was used to test for nter-group differences: p < 0.05 was considered as significant. In hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, we observed decreased values of HF component, both in supine and upright positions, as compared to hypertensives without LVH. Components of HRV did not differ between the hypertensives without LVH and the normotensives. In hypertensives with a LVH the high frequency component of HRV was decreased, indicating impaired para-sympathetic activity. | lld:pubmed |
