Determinants of left ventricular mass in untreated mildly hypertensive subjects - Hospitalet study in mild hypertension

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to identify the determina nts of left ventricular mass in untreated mildly hypertensive subjects at t he Hypertension Unit Department of Internal Medicine, Red Cross Hospital, H ospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. One hundred seventy-one untreated mildly hypertensive subjects, with a mean age of 41.1 +/- 11.8 years (from 18 to 65 years) were sequentially visited in our Unit; 54% were men. Echocardiographic measurements of good quality were obtained in 142 subjects (83%). Two-dimensional guided M-mode echocard iograms were used and left ventricular mass was estimated according to the Penn convention. Left ventricular mass (LVM) was analyzed as a continuous variable. In the b ivariate analysis, the variables that significantly correlated with LVM wer e patient's height (r = 0.42, P < .0005), weight (r = 0.47, P less than or equal to .0005), heart rate (r = -0.22, P = .01), NDLc (r = -0.30, P = .002 ), hematocrit (r = -0.28, P = .001), urinary sodium excretion (r = 0.23, P = 0.012), and different measurements from the ambulatory blood pressure pro file for 24 h. By means of multiple regression analysis, a maximum of 41.2% of LVM variability could be explained from the factors registered in our s tudy. The final model included age, gender, patient's weight, and diastolic night load from ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. When added to differ ent models, weight and diastolic night: load showed a similar strength in p redicting left ventricular mass, In untreated patients with mild hypertension, traditional factors such as b lood pressure levels explain a maximum of 41.2% of LVM variability. More kn owledge is needed about factors that may alter cardiac morphology in the ev olution of hypertensive patients. (C) 1999 American Journal of Hypertension , Ltd.