Objective: To study the relationship of variability of blood pressure with cardiac structure and functions in essential hypertension.
Methods: A hundred and ten patients suffered from essential hypertension were divided into two groups according whether having left ventricular hypertrophy. The characteristics of overload and variability of blood pressure in both groups were analysed and several indexes on cardiac structure and function were compared between two groups.
Results: Both groups showed significant differences in the mass of left ventricle (LVM), the mass index (LVMI) of left ventricle, the thickness of interventricular septum (IVS), posterior wall of left ventricle (LVPW) and relative wall thickness (RWT) except for hypertensive ages. The ratio of E/A in both groups was significantly decreased. The rate of SBP load (SBPLO) both at day and night, the level of SBP in 24 hours and reductive rate of SBP at night (nSBPrr), the variabilities of systolic blood pressure (SBPV) and mean arterial pressure (MAPV) as well as hypertensive vascular overload index (HTNVOI) in two groups were obviously different.
Conclusions: 1) In early stage, the diastolic cardiac function in essential hypertension was damaged. 2) The happeness of left ventricular hypertrophy in essential hypertension was not only associated with the degrees and types of vascular overload, the increased variabilities of systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure, reversely with the reductive rate of SBP at night as well, but feebly with hypertensive-age. 3) As a low awareness, hypertensive-age was unreliable in the recollection. 4) Age was also a risk factor of left ventricular hypertrophy in essential hypertension.