LAUSR

Objective: (1) to evaluate left ventricle (LV) and left atrium (LA) stiffness parameters in patients aged 45–65 years with arterial hypertension grade 1–2 without concomitant cardiovascular diseases; (2) to test relationships of myocardial stiffness with vascular age. Design and method: Case-control study. We examined 60 naive patients with uncomplicated essential arterial hypertension grade 1–2 (mean age 53,6 ± 0,8 years; 31 men; mean body mass index [BMI] 31,0 ± 0,5 kg/m2; 36,7% smokers, mean office blood pressure 153,2 ± 1,8/ 96,3 ± 0,8 mm Hg) and 44 healthy individuals (mean age 51,5 ± 1,0 years; 21 men; mean BMI 26,5 ± 0,6 kg/m2; 18,2% smokers). Comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography using Vivid 7 Dimension system (GE) were performed. LV end-diastolic stiffness, LV end-systolic elastance (ESE), LV diastolic elastance (DE), LA stiffness index, LA expansion index and tissue Doppler-derived LA strain were calculated. 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography data were acquired for determination of LV myocardial global longitudinal peak strain (LV GLPS). Serum total cholesterol (TC), low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and creatinine levels were measured in both groups. Vascular age (VA) was calculated using SCORE project scales. Results: LV GLPS was significantly (p < 0,001) lower in hypertensive patients (−17,1 ± 0,4% vs. −19,9 ± 0,4% in controls). LA stiffness index was significantly (p < 0,01) higher in hypertensive patients compared with healthy individuals (0,20 ± 0,01 vs. 0,16 ± 0,01, respectively). No significant differences between hypertensive and control group were obtained in other myocardial stiffness parameters. LA stiffness index and LA expansion index showed a weak but significant correlation with VA (r = 0,36, p < 0,01 and r = −0,26, p < 0,05, respectively). Among the LV stiffness parameters, only LV DE and LV ESE demonstrated association with VA (r = 0,39, p < 0,01 and r = 0,28, p < 0,05). No significant correlations were determined between chronological age and LA stiffness variables. Among the LV stiffness data, association with chronological age was revealed in LV ESE (r = 0,35, p < 0,01) and LV DE (r = 0,41, p < 0,01). Conclusions: The present study reveals increased myocardial stiffness in untreated patients aged 45–65 years with arterial hypertension grade 1–2 in comparison with sex- and age-matched healthy individuals. We also determined an association between some myocardial stiffness parameters and VA.