Importance of overweight in studies of left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic function in mild systemic hypertension

Abstract

The relations of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Relative Weight values and blood pressure (BP) to minimal forearm vascular resistance, ventricular septal and posterior wall thickness, left ventricular (LV) mass index and cardiac diastolic function were assessed in 31 men, 37 +/- 2 (mean +/-standard error of the mean) years of age. Eighteen patients with untreated mild hypertension were compared with 13 normotensive control subjects of similar age and weight. The hypertensives had higher clinic (137 +/-3/96 +/- 2 vs 121 +/-4/81 +/- 3 mm Hg, p 2). Furthermore, diastolic peak filling rate, an index of LV diastolic function, was virtually identical in the 2 groups (2.71 +/- 0.14 vs 2.69 +/- 0.07 liters/s, difference not significant). Correlates of peak filling rate included relative weight (r = -0.62, p The results suggest that relative weight is an important determinant of diastolic function and LV dimensions. These findings highlight the importance of controlling for weight in comparative studies of cardiovascular structure and function.