TY - JOUR
T1 - Left atrial enlargement in essential hypertension
T2 - Role in the assessment of subclinical hypertensive heart disease
AU - Milan, Alberto
AU - Puglisi, Elisabetta
AU - Magnino, Corrado
AU - Naso, Diego
AU - Abram, Sara
AU - Avenatti, Eleonora
AU - Rabbia, Franco
AU - Mulatero, Paolo
AU - Veglio, Franco
PY - 2012/4
Y1 - 2012/4
N2 - Background. Arterial hypertension is a common cause of cardiac organ damage, inducing morphofunctional modifications involving left chambers. This is a retrospective study: it was designed to evaluate the additive clinical value of left atrial enlargement (LAe) assessment in the evaluation of cardiac organ damage. Methods. A total of 814 (67% male; aged 50.7 ± 12 years, mean ± SD) essential hypertensive subjects underwent routinely to a complete and extensive clinical and echocardiographic evaluation. Left ventricular morphology, systolic and diastolic function and left atrial dimension (LAD; linear and volumetric) were evaluated. Results. Prevalence of LAe varied between 6.2% and 52.1%, depending on the chosen criteria (left atrial diameter indexed for body surface area (BSA) vs left atrial volume (LAV) indexed for BSA - LAVi). LAVi showed to be the most sensitive parameter in order to detect it (sensitivity 96%, specificity 100%). Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was present in about one fifth of our population (14% and 26%, considering indexation for BSA and for height 2.7). Concentric remodelling (CR) was present in 27-35% of cases considering left ventricular mass indexation for BSA and for height 2.7, respectively. In one quarter of our population, LAe was the only echocardiographic sign of hypertension, independent of LVH and CR. Conclusions. LAV evaluation in hypertensive population can contribute to the identification of subjects affected by hypertensive heart disease other than the conventionally evaluated terms (LVH and CR).
AB - Background. Arterial hypertension is a common cause of cardiac organ damage, inducing morphofunctional modifications involving left chambers. This is a retrospective study: it was designed to evaluate the additive clinical value of left atrial enlargement (LAe) assessment in the evaluation of cardiac organ damage. Methods. A total of 814 (67% male; aged 50.7 ± 12 years, mean ± SD) essential hypertensive subjects underwent routinely to a complete and extensive clinical and echocardiographic evaluation. Left ventricular morphology, systolic and diastolic function and left atrial dimension (LAD; linear and volumetric) were evaluated. Results. Prevalence of LAe varied between 6.2% and 52.1%, depending on the chosen criteria (left atrial diameter indexed for body surface area (BSA) vs left atrial volume (LAV) indexed for BSA - LAVi). LAVi showed to be the most sensitive parameter in order to detect it (sensitivity 96%, specificity 100%). Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was present in about one fifth of our population (14% and 26%, considering indexation for BSA and for height 2.7). Concentric remodelling (CR) was present in 27-35% of cases considering left ventricular mass indexation for BSA and for height 2.7, respectively. In one quarter of our population, LAe was the only echocardiographic sign of hypertension, independent of LVH and CR. Conclusions. LAV evaluation in hypertensive population can contribute to the identification of subjects affected by hypertensive heart disease other than the conventionally evaluated terms (LVH and CR).
KW - hypertensive cardiomyopathy
KW - left atrium
KW - left ventricular hypertrophy
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U2 - 10.3109/08037051.2011.617098
DO - 10.3109/08037051.2011.617098
M3 - Article
C2 - 21992014
AN - SCOPUS:84859027212
SN - 0803-7051
VL - 21
SP - 88
EP - 96
JO - Blood Pressure
JF - Blood Pressure
IS - 2
ER -