Background Fibro-calcification of the mitral annulus (MAC) has been associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke in general populations. This study was performed to assess whether MAC predicts incidence of ischemic stroke in treated hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Methods Baseline and follow-up clinical and echocardiographic parameters were assessed in 939 hypertensive patients with electrocardiogram (ECG) LVH participating in the Losartan Intervention for Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) echocardiography substudy (66±7 years; 42% women; 11% with diabetes) who did not have aortic or mitral valve stenosis or prosthesis. Results MAC was found in 458 patients (49%). Patients with MAC were older (68±7 vs. 65±7 years); were more often women (47% vs. 37%); had higher baseline systolic blood pressure (BP) (175±14 vs. 172±15mm Hg), left atrial diameter (4.0±0.5 vs. 3.8±0.6cm), and left ventricular mass index (58±13 vs. 55±12g/m(2.7)) and included more patients with proteinuria (30% vs. 21%; all P < 0.01). During a mean follow-up of 4.8 years, 58 participants had an ischemic stroke. Risk of incident ischemic stroke was significantly related to presence of MAC (log rank = 9; P < 0.01). In multivariable Cox regression analysis models, MAC was associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke (hazard ratio = 1.78-2.35), independent of age, baseline or time-varying systolic BP, prevalence or incidence of atrial fibrillation, history of previous cerebrovascular disease, and other well-recognized confounders, such as sex, time-varying left ventricular mass, left atrial diameter, and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (all P < 0.05). Conclusions MAC is common in treated hypertensive patients with ECG LVH and is an independent predictor of incident ischemic stroke.
The beginning of antihypertensive therapy with diuretics is more often subject to the addition of one or more medications to obtain an effective blood pressure control, since the diuretic administered at the beginning of the antihypertensive regimen is only rarely associated with optimal blood pressure control.
Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and mortality. We evaluated whether stage 3 (s3)-CKD is associated with abnormalities of the cardiovascular system. Methods: Thirty-nine asymptomatic s3-CKD patients, free of prevalent cardiovascular disease, were compared with 44 control subjects with comparable prevalence of hypertension (66% vs 69% in s3-CKD). In addition to standard echocardiographic parameters, we computed non-invasive effective arterial elastance (EAE, in mmHg mL beat), systolic left ventricular elastance (LVe, in mmHg mL) and myocardial mechanic efficiency (MME, in mL sec), using previously reported formulas. Results: s3-CKD and controls were comparable for age, sex, lipid profile and prevalence of diabetes mellitus and smoking habit. Left ventricular (LV) mass, geometry and stroke work were similar in the two groups, with both ejection fraction and midwall shortening (mS) significantly reduced in the CKD group (both p < 0.001). Within the s3-CKD group, 36% had clear-cut depressed mS. EAE and peripheral resistance were higher in s3-CKD than in controls (both p < 0.005), and MME was reduced in CKD (p < 0.005), an impairment even clearer after controlling for LV mass, and increasing with increasing values of LV mass (p < 0.001). In addition, at a given level of peripheral resistance, LV geometry was less concentric in s3-CKD than in controls (p < 0.05). Conclusions: s3-CKD asymptomatic patients show a peculiar cardiovascular phenotype, characterized by impaired mechano-energetic efficiency and reduced midwall mechanics, in the presence of inadequately compensating LV concentric remodelling. Whether these characteristics might result in higher cardiovascular risk in s3-CKD should be investigated.
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