Recommendations on the use of echocardiography in adult hypertension: A report from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE)

Abstract

Hypertension remains a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Themeasurement of blood pressure continues to have pitfalls related to bothphysiological aspects andacutevariation.Astheleftventricle(LV)remainsoneof themaintarget organs ofhypertension, andechocardiographic measures of structure and function carry prognostic information in this setting, the development of a consensus position on the use of echocardiography in this setting is important. Recent developments in the assessment of LV hypertrophy and LV systolic and diastolic function have prompted the preparation of this document. The focus of thiswork is on the cardiovascular responses to hypertension rather than the diagnosis of secondary hypertension. Sections address the pathophysiology of the cardiac and vascular responses to hypertension, measurement of LV mass, geometry, and function, as well as effects of treatment. All rights reserved.