Relationship between left ventricular mass and noninvasive monitoring of blood pressure.

We studied the relationship between left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and blood pressure (BP) monitored during 24 hours in 35 normotensive and 58 hypertensive patients with no treatment for more than three months. We found a close correlation between LVMI and the average daytime systolic BP (r = 0.68). Other parameters derived from BP monitoring were also correlated with LVMI: daytime diastolic BP (0.54), nighttime systolic and diastolic BP (0.61 and 0.54), pulse pressure (0.58), the average of the five highest systolic and diastolic BP (0.57 both), and the percentage of systolic BP above 140 mm Hg (r = 0.64). However, in a stepwise multiple regression analysis only daytime systolic BP was independently correlated to LVMI. The standard deviation of systolic BP was not significantly correlated to LVMI. The same positive correlation between daytime systolic BP and LVMI was found in normotensive and hypertensive patients, males and females, and patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy. So, at least regarding the prediction of the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy, the average systolic BP during daytime seems to be the only valuable parameter to look at in ambulatory BP monitorings of untreated hypertensive patients.