Hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy.

In response to high blood pressure, left ventricular hypertrophy develops. But in hypertension, the myocardial hypertrophied structure is abnormal. The prevalence of this hypertrophy is influenced by age, gender, weight, race, genetics and the severity of high blood pressure. By echocardiography, it has been possible to detect non invasively and more precisely this hypertrophy and its anatomical pattern which is not uniform. This cardiac response is influenced by hemodynamic but also by non hemodynamic factors, but the exact mechanisms are not yet well understood. The humoral and tropic factors particularly affect the cardiac remodeling. Left ventricular hypertrophy has been noted by itself to be an independent risk factor for sudden death, ventricular arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, and heart failure. Very early hypertension, diastolic dysfunction is noted. The progression to systolic failure in moderate hypertension usually occurs over several decades. According to the worse prognosis of left ventricular hypertrophy, it has been suggested that the reversibility of this anatomical modification by antihypertensive treatment is beneficial. Preliminary data support this idea.