| pubmed-article:2977181 | pubmed:abstractText | To investigate the predictive value of exercise tests and diastolic function measurements for the progression of left ventricular hypertrophy, symptom-limited treadmill stress testing and echocardiography were performed before and after a follow-up period of 3.5 years in 47 mild hypertensive men aged 42 +/- 2 years. The men were classified into three groups by the progression of the left ventricular mass index (%LVMI) during the observation, i.e. (LVMI after follow-up) - (LVMI before follow-up)/(LVMI before follow-up). The high-progression group (n = 13) had a %LVMI exceeding mean +/- 2/3s.d. of all subjects; the low-progression group (n = 21) had a %LVMI within mean +/- 2/3s.d. and the non-progression group (n = 13) had a %LVMI less than mean -2/3s.d. At the beginning of the observation, age, blood pressure at rest, LVMI, ejection fraction, mean velocity of circumferential fibre shortening, peak shortening rate and systolic time intervals (ET/PEP, ratio of ejection time to pre-ejection period) were similar among the three groups. However, the high-progression group showed a higher systolic pressure at peak exercise, a lower peak filling rate and a longer time to peak filling rate (TPFR) as corrected by the R-R interval of the ECG. These data suggest that systolic pressure at peak exercise and echocardiographically assessed diastolic function are useful in predicting the progression of cardiac involvement in mild hypertension. | lld:pubmed |
