Evaluation of cardiac performance in hypertension

Abstract

Myocardial perfusion and left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling were studied in 67 patients with mild to moderate hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The control group consisted of 28 subjects with no cardiac pathology. LV mass assessed by M-mode echocardiography was obtained in all patients. LV diastolic filling was estimated by pulsed Doppler echocardiography before and after intravenous administration of verapamil (0.145 mg/kg) and contrast ventricular angiography during intracoronary administration of verapamil (1 to 1.5 mg). Myocardial perfusion was estimated by tech- netium-99m scintigraphy with albumin microspheres and thallium-199 scrintigraphy in combination with intravenous dipyridamole. Coronary artery disease was excluded in 42 patients by coronary angiography. Pulsed Doppler echocardiography demonstrated an inverse correlation between the LV mass index and the ratio of peak early to peak atrial velocity (r = — 65, P