Left Ventricular Mass and Diastolic Function in Young Individuals With a First Elevated “Casual” Blood Pressure

Abstract

Blood pressure (BP) measurement induces an alerting reaction that causes an increase of BP above the “basal” when it is measured in the clinic. The intensity of this elevation is function of many factors and decreases in subsequent measurements. Thus some individuals who have elevated BP values at a first “casual” determination have normal values at subsequent examinations. The present study was undertaken to investigate left ventricular (LV) function and structure in young individuals with a first elevated “casual” BP. In order to study this we separated two groups of young male individuals (average age 21 ± 0.6) from a previous screening in which BP had been measured at two different examinations separated by 1 week. Group A (n =12) had diastolic blood pressure (DBP) <70mmHg at both screenings (63 ± 2 and 62 ± 2mmHg, respectively), and group B (n = 9) had DBP 3≥90 mmHg at the first screening (94 ± 1 mmHg) but below these values at the second screening (76 ± 3 mmHg). Average age and body mass index were similar in both groups. Left ventricular function and structure were evaluated with echocardiographic and Doppler studies. None of the parameters measured was significantly different in any of the groups. The results provide evidence that young individuals who could be classified as hypertensives on a first screening and lose their condition at latter screenings do not present with LV dysfunction and consequently they should be considered normotensives according to the JNC-IV criteria.